STAND. COM. REP. 2158

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: S.B. No. 2246

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture, to which was referred S.B. No. 2246 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AGRICULTURE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to exempt leases from the prohibition of private restrictions on agricultural uses and activities within State agricultural districts.

Testimony in support of this measure was received by the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii, Hawaii Farm Bureau, and Kamehameha Schools. Hawaiian Island Development Co., Inc. submitted comments on the measure.

Your Committee heard the concerns of the Chairpersons of the Board of Agriculture and Board of Land and Natural Resources regarding the need to include utility and access easements in the measure to ensure uninterrupted service from public utilities and safe ingress and egress over agricultural land. Your Committee finds that making these changes will provide necessary latitude to allow the bill to help, and not hinder, implementation of these exceptions.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended the measure by exempting utility and access easements, in addition to leases, from the prohibition against private restrictions on agricultural lands, and by making technical, nonsubstantive changes.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2246, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2246, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture,

____________________________

LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair