STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1175

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.C.R. No. 184

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committees on Agriculture and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 184 entitled:

 

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES TO CONSULT WITH HAWAII SMALL SCALE FARMERS, HAWAII SMALL SCALE PRODUCERS, AND AFFECTED PARTIES ON THE OFFSETTING OF COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FOOD SAFETY MODERNIZATION ACT,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to request that federal and state agencies consult with Hawaii small scale farmers, Hawaii small scale producers, and affected parties on the offsetting of costs associated with the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Agriculture, Hawaii Farm Bureau, and Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii.

 

     Your Committees find that the Food Safety Modernization Act was signed into law on January 4, 2011, and in January 2013, the Food and Drug Administration, without meaningful consultation with Hawaii small scale farmers, published Produce Safety and Preventive Control Rules to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act.  Your Committees further find that many Hawaii small scale farmers are contractually obligated to farm or ranch the land they lease, making them particularly vulnerable to costs associated with conforming to the standards outlined in the Food Safety Modernization Act.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Agriculture and Hawaiian Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 184 and recommend that it be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Agriculture and Hawaiian Affairs,

 

________________________________

MAILE S.L. SHIMABUKURO, Chair

 

________________________________

RUSSELL E. RUDERMAN, Chair