STAND. COM. REP. NO.106-02

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: H.B. No. 1939

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Water and Land Use and Agriculture, to which was referred H.B. No. 1939 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR AGRICULTURAL WATER DEVELOPMENT,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to ensure the availability of economical water resources for Hawaii's agricultural industry by appropriating $45,000,000 to improve the existing agricultural water infrastructure. Of this sum, $5,000,000 will be used for federal aid financing or reimbursement.

This bill provides funding to make improvements to irrigation water delivery systems in existing agricultural regions. It also provides temporary relief subsidies for the operational costs of these agricultural systems.

Testifying in support of this bill were the University of Hawaii's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, the County of Kauai's Office of Economic Development, the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, the Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii, the Hawaii Leeward Planning Conference, the Hawaii Macadamia Nut Association, MacFarms of Hawaii, Inc., the Pineapple Growers Association of Hawaii, and the East Kauai Water Users' Cooperative. The Department of Agriculture supported the intent of the bill.

The delivery of reliable irrigation water is the lifeline of Hawaii's agricultural industry. With the economic recession, financial assistance from private capital is not readily available. Because these improvements to water infrastructure are vital for the State's economic recovery, these projects are worthy of support with public funds.

Your Committees have amended this bill by:

(1) Expanding the types of projects eligible to receive funding to include new water resource developments; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments to correct stylistic errors.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Water and Land Use and Agriculture that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1939, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1939, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

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

 

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FELIPE P. ABINSAY, Chair

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EZRA KANOHO, Chair