STAND. COM. REP. NO. 40-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2573

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Agriculture & Food Systems, to which was referred H.B. No. 2573 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, in collaboration with the University of Hawaii's Leeward Community College and Department of Human Resources Development, to establish a five-year Agriculture and Biosecurity Workforce Development Pilot Program to equip interested students with the necessary entry-level knowledge, skill set, expertise, and advancement potential in the field of agriculture and biosecurity.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity; Department of Law Enforcement; University of Hawaiʻi System; Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau; Hawaiʻi Food+ Policy; and Hawaiʻi Farmers Union United. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Resources Development.

Your Committee finds that the establishment of the Agriculture and Biosecurity Workforce Development Pilot Program will advance a practical and outcomes-driven approach to strengthening Hawaii's workforce capacity in agriculture and biosecurity, areas that are essential to the State's resilience, food security, and public health.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that the offering of increased compensation to participants of the Agriculture and Biosecurity Workforce Development Pilot Program who transition into biosecurity employment shall be determined by the Department of Human Resources Development;

(2) Requiring the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to collaborate with the Department of Law Enforcement in establishing the Pilot Program and reporting to the Legislature on the Pilot Program;

(3) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(4) 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 Agriculture & Food Systems that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2573, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2573, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Higher Education.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Agriculture & Food Systems,

____________________________

CORY CHUN, Chair