STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3924

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.C.R. No. 31

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Water, Land, Culture and the Arts and Agriculture and Environment, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 31 entitled:

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING 2026 AS THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF RANGELANDS AND PASTORALISTS IN HAWAII,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to recognize 2026 as the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists in Hawaii.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity; University of Hawaiʻi College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience; Office of the Mayor of the County of Maui; Hawaii Cattlemen's Council, Inc.; Larry Jefts Farms, LLC; Parker Ranch, Inc.; ʻĀina Advocates LLC; Kapāpala Ranch; Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau; Caires Farms, LLC; and six individuals.

Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from Animal Rights Hawaiʻi.

Your Committees find that rangelands are ecosystems based on grassy vegetation that cover more than half of the land on the planet and that pastoralists, including ranchers, are those who raise livestock or semi-domesticated animals on rangelands, perpetuating a millennia-old occupation found in some form on each of the six civilized continents. Locally, rangelands account for approximately a quarter of state lands, and state ranchers contribute over $50,000,000 annually to the economy. Your Committees further find that, besides food production, rangelands support humankind by supplying carbon sequestration and storage, renewable and nonrenewable energy resources, and aesthetic and recreational opportunities. To align with the United Nations and other governmental entities around the world, this measure will formally recognize the vital significance of rangelands and the pastoralists who steward them.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Water, Land, Culture and the Arts and Agriculture and Environment that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 31, and recommend its adoption.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Water, Land, Culture and the Arts and Agriculture and Environment,

________________________________ MIKE GABBARD, Chair

________________________________ CHRIS LEE, Chair