STAND. COM. REP. NO. 587

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 1941

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Water, Land, Agriculture, and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 1941 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR IRRIGATION SYSTEMS AND RELATING TO CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE STATE,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds for the repair and maintenance of irrigation systems and to authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds for capital improvement projects for irrigation systems throughout the State.

 

     Specifically, this measure:

 

     (1)  Authorizes the issuance of $7,036,000 in general obligation bonds to the Department of Agriculture for system repair and maintenance for East Kauai, Waimanalo, Molokai, and Lower Hamakua;

 

     (2)  Appropriates $7,036,000 for system repair and maintenance of East Kauai, Waimanalo, Molokai, and Lower Hamakua; and

 

     (3)  Appropriates $11,000,000 in general obligation bonds to be deposited into the Irrigation Repair and Maintenance Special Fund for repair and maintenance of irrigation systems in East Kauai, Waimanalo, Molokai, Upcountry Maui, Kau, Honomalino, Wahiawa, and other privately-owned irrigation systems on former sugarcane and pineapple plantation lands that have been converted to diversified agriculture.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Agriculture, the Agribusiness Development Corporation, the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, and one individual.

 

     Your Committee finds that this measure will help to ensure that irrigation water continues to be available to farms throughout the State.  The repair and maintenance of these specific irrigation systems will restore the systems' ability to operate optimally and will increase the number of farms and acreage that can benefit from these existing irrigation systems. 

 

     Your Committee recognizes that the sum of $11,886,000 was appropriated for the repair and maintenance of irrigation systems including the East Kauai irrigation system, the Waimanalo irrigation system, the Molokai irrigation system, Waimea irrigation system, and the Lower Hamakua irrigation system under Act 233, Session Laws of Hawaii 2006.  Section 7 of Act 233, Session Laws of Hawaii 2006, directs that the appropriation for these capital improvement irrigation repair and maintenance projects will not lapse at the end of the 2006-2007 fiscal year and any unencumbered amounts as of June 30, 2008, will lapse.  Thus, your Committee finds that these capital improvement program appropriations are still in effect.

 

     Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Deleting the provision that authorizes the Director of Finance to issue general obligation bonds in the sum of $7,036,000 for the repair and maintenance of irrigation systems for the East Kauai irrigation system, the Waimanalo irrigation system, the Molokai irrigation system, and the Lower Hamakua irrigation system, and replacing it with an appropriation from general revenues;

 

     (2)  Deleting the provision that appropriates $7,036,000 for system repair and maintenance of East Kauai irrigation system, Waimanalo irrigation system, Molokai irrigation system, and Lower Hamakua irrigation system; and

 

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of style and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, Agriculture, and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1941, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1941, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

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

 

 

 

____________________________

RUSSELL S. KOKUBUN, Chair