THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

166

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

requesting the Auditor to conduct a performance audit of the Agribusiness Development Corporation.

 

 

WHEREAS, sections 163D-1 and 163D-4(b), Hawaii Revised Statutes, require the Agribusiness Development Corporation to:

(1) Coordinate and administer programs to assist agricultural enterprises to:

(A) Facilitate the transition of agricultural infrastructure from plantation operations into other agricultural enterprises;

(B) Carry on the marketing analysis to direct agricultural industry evolution; and

(C) Provide the leadership for the development, financing, improvement, or enhancement of agricultural enterprises; and

(2) Develop, promote, assist, and market export crops and other crops for local markets;

and

WHEREAS, to carry out its broad mandate, sections 163D-4(a), 163D-7, and 163D-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, give the Agribusiness Development Corporation the power to:

(1) Conduct surveys, research, and investigations into technological, business, financial, consumer trends, and other aspects of agricultural production in the national and international community;

(2) Acquire, own, hold, improve, rehabilitate, sell, assign, exchange, transfer, convey, lease, or otherwise dispose of, or encumber any real, personal, or mixed property;

(3) Acquire, construct, reconstruct, rehabilitate, improve, alter, repair, own, hold, sell, assign, transfer, convey, exchange, lease, or otherwise dispose of, or encumber any infrastructure or accessory facilities in connection with any project;

(4) Acquire, construct, operate, and maintain facilities for conveying, distributing, and transmitting water for irrigation and agricultural uses;

(5) Conduct detailed marketing analyses and develop marketing and promotional strategies to strengthen the position of agricultural enterprises and to better exploit local, national, and international markets;

(6) Carry out specialized programs designed to develop new markets for Hawaii agricultural products;

(7) Make allowances or grants for the development of new crops and agricultural products, the expansion of established agricultural enterprises, and the altering of existing agricultural enterprises;

(8) Develop and implement agricultural projects where large tracts of agricultural land have been or will be taken out of productive agriculture or where, through detailed analysis, opportunities exist to exploit potential local, national, and international markets; and

(9) Issue revenue bonds for the purpose of constructing, acquiring, remodeling, furnishing, and equipping any project facility, including the acquisition of the site thereof;

and

WHEREAS, section 163D-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires the Agribusiness Development Corporation to prepare the Hawaii agribusiness plan, the purpose of which is to define and establish goals, objectives, policies, and priority guidelines for the corporation's agribusiness development strategy. The Hawaii agribusiness plan is to include:

(1) An inventory of agricultural lands with suitable adequate water resources that are or will become available due to the downsizing of the sugar and pineapple industries that can be used to meet present and future agricultural production needs;

(2) An inventory of agricultural infrastructure that will be abandoned by sugar and pineapple industries such as irrigation systems, drainage systems, processing facilities, and other accessory facilities;

(3) An analysis of imported agricultural products and the potential for increasing local production to replace imported products in a manner that complements existing local producers and increases Hawaii's agricultural self-sufficiency;

(4) Alternatives in the establishment of sound financial programs to promote the development of diversified agriculture;

(5) Feasible strategies for the promotion, marketing, and distribution of Hawaii agricultural products in local, national, and international markets;

(6) Programs to promote and facilitate the absorbing of displaced agricultural workers into alternative agricultural enterprises;

(7) Strategies to ensure the provision of adequate air and surface transportation services and supporting facilities to support the agricultural industry in meeting local, national, and international market needs;

(8) Proposals to improve the gathering of data and the timely presentation of information on market demands and trends that can be used to plan future harvests and production; and

(9) Strategies for federal and state legislative actions that will promote the development and enhancement of Hawaii's agricultural industries;

and

WHEREAS, many of the principal activities of the Agribusiness Development Corporation could be performed by other state agencies given similar powers, including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, and the Department of Land and Natural Resources; and

WHEREAS, although section 163D-3(a), Hawaii Revised Statutes, allows the Agribusiness Development Corporation to incorporate as a nonprofit corporation if this proves desirable to further its objectives, effective July 1, 2005, the Board of Directors of the Agribusiness Development Corporation will be reconstituted and consist solely of the members of the Board of Agriculture; and

WHEREAS, given the overlap in functions between the Agribusiness Development Corporation and the Departments of Agriculture; Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Labor and Industrial Relations; and Land and Natural Resources; and the reconstitution of the Board of Directors of the Agribusiness Development Corporation on July 1, 2005, it may be timely to conduct a performance audit of the corporation; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2002, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Auditor is requested to conduct a performance audit of the Agribusiness Development Corporation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to submit any findings and recommendations to the Legislature not less than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2003; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Chairperson of the Agribusiness Development Corporation, the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture, and the Auditor.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

ADC; Financial and Management Audit