STAND. COM. REP. NO. 123

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 219
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Economic Development, to which was
referred S.B. No. 219 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE COFFEE
     INSPECTION REVOLVING FUND TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INSPECTORS,"

begs leave to report as follows:
     
     The purpose of this measure is to appropriate an unspecified
sum to the coffee inspection revolving fund to provide additional
inspectors.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure
from the Department of Agriculture, the Hawaii Coffee
Association, the Hawaii Farm Bureau, and the Kona County Farm
Bureau.

     Your Committee finds that Hawaii's rapidly expanding coffee
industry has grown to a $75,000,000 crop, and there are currently
not enough trained inspectors to meet the demand for inspections
on a timely basis.

     Your Committee further finds that the department now has
three permanent full time, and two part time trained coffee
inspectors statewide.  In the past year, two part time staff left
and new inspectors must be trained.  While part time inspectors
are paid from inspection fees once their training is complete,
the cost of training must be met by the department from other
sources.


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 123
                                   Page 2


     Your Committee is in support of this measure and has made a
technical amendment to clarify that certification of coffee is
"as to grade".

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Economic Development that is attached to this
report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose
of S.B. No. 219, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass
Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 219,
S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Economic
                                   Development,



                                   ______________________________
                                   LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair

 
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