STAND. COM. REP. 1092

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 1619

S.D. 2

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Public Safety and Military Affairs and Tourism and Culture, to which was referred S.B. No. 1619, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to establish a Motor Sports Recreation and Public Safety Training and Educational Facility Investment Tax Credit of an unspecified amount for qualified investments made by a taxpayer in the Motor Sports Recreation and Public Safety Training and Educational Facility (racetrack) on parcel 9 at Kalaeloa, Oahu.

Hawaii Motorsports Center, Jerrette K. Productions, and a concerned individual testified in support of this bill. The Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation (Farm Bureau) and Kunia Water Cooperative opposed this measure. The Department of Taxation and Tax Foundation of Hawaii offered comments.

Your Committees are concerned about the potential loss of prime agricultural lands as well as an important farming operation in Kunia that could be affected by the construction of this racetrack. According to the Farm Bureau, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) owns a portion of the 139 acres needed for the racetrack in Kalaeloa. Because DHHL is interested in developing residential lots, Campbell Estates plans to sell to the racetrack developer a 150-acre parcel of agriculturally zoned land west of Kunia Road in the vicinity of the Royal Kunia development. DHHL would then swap its Kalaeloa parcel to the racetrack developer for the Kunia parcel.

Currently, a seed farm holds the lease to a portion of the Kunia parcel from Campbell Estate. If the land swap is completed, there is concern that the seed farm may no longer be viable. Moreover, DHHL will eventually take steps to construct homes on this parcel. This could lead to the conversion of the region to urban development. The City and County of Honolulu's development plan currently designates the lands west of Kunia Road for agricultural use.

As this bill moves through the Legislature, your Committees urge DHHL to meet with the Farm Bureau, the seed farm owner, and other interested parties to find an acceptable resolution to these concerns.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Public Safety and Military Affairs and Tourism and Culture that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1619, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and recommend that it be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Public Safety and Military Affairs and Tourism and Culture,

 

____________________________

JERRY L. CHANG, Chair

____________________________

KEN ITO, Chair