STAND.
COM. REP. NO. 1880
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2023
RE: S.B. No. 655
S.D. 1
H.D. 2
Honorable Scott K. Saiki
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2023
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 655, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEMP,"
begs leave to report as follows:
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Agriculture, Hawai‘i Hemp Farmers Association, Hawai‘i Farm Bureau, Hawai‘i Farmers Union United, Hawaii Farmers Union United – Haleakala Chapter, Hawaii Sustainable Farms LLC, Ma‘alahi Farm, and numerous individuals.
Your Committee finds that Congress is expected to amend federal hemp cultivation laws to allow exemptions for industrial hemp crops that are grown for fiber, fuel, or grain for food. This measure would give the Department of Agriculture the explicit authority to amend hemp production rules to align with those federal hemp exemptions.
Your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Amending the preamble to clarify that the purpose of the measure is for the Department of Agriculture to amend its rules to align with the United States Department of Agriculture rules, including any federal exemptions for hemp fiber, fuel, and food grain; and
(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 655, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 655, S.D. 1, H.D. 2.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,
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____________________________ DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair |
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