STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2680

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2718

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Agriculture and Environment and Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 2718 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE FOOD HUB PILOT PROGRAM,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Beginning January 1, 2028, require the Department of Education, Department of Health, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of Defense, and University of Hawaii to ensure that thirty percent of the produce purchased by each respective department consists of fresh local agricultural products or local value-added, processed, agricultural, or food products;

(2) Require the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to develop a nutrition- and aina-based program for integration into public school curricula;

(3) Require the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to partner with a regional aggregator to support the aggregation and processing of Native Hawaiian staple crops, facilitate procurement pipelines, and expand access to Native Hawaiian crops;

(4) Require the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to prioritize grants for an organization that meets certain requirements;

(5) Require a report to the Legislature; and

(6) Appropriate funds.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau, Hawaiʻi Food+ Policy, Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action, Restore the Commons, and six individuals.

Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Education, Department of Health, and one individual.

Your Committees find that previous legislative efforts aimed to strengthen local food networks by connecting the State's farmers directly to consumers, schools, and institutions. The Food Hub Pilot Program has helped demonstrate the value of coordinated aggregation, processing, and distribution in connecting farmers with institutional buyers. Therefore, this measure will further these efforts to create market pathways for the State's farmers.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that would have amended procurement benchmarks for state agencies contracting for local agricultural products and expanded the Farm to Schools Meals Program;

(2) Inserting a blank appropriation amount;

(3) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose;

(4) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

Your Committees note that this measure, as amended, contains an unspecified appropriation amount. Should your Committee on Ways and Means choose to deliberate on this measure, your Committees respectfully request that it consider inserting an appropriation amount of $5,000,000 to the Food Hub Pilot Program.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Agriculture and Environment and Government Operations that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2718, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2718, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Agriculture and Environment and Government Operations,

________________________________ ANGUS L.K. MCKELVEY, Chair

________________________________ MIKE GABBARD, Chair