STAND. COM. REP. 1088

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 255

S.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Agriculture and Water, Land Use, and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 255, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AGRICULTURE,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to protect agricultural uses and activities on agricultural land by:

(1) Establishing that agricultural uses and activities on lands classified as agricultural shall not be restricted by private agreements contained in any deed, lease, agreement of sale, or other conveyance of land that subject such agricultural lands to any servitude, including but not limited to covenants, easements, or equitable and reciprocal negative servitudes; and

(2) Declaring that any private restriction limiting or prohibiting agricultural use or activity shall be void or voidable by the person who is occupying and using the land classified as agricultural, except for restrictions taken to protect environmental or cultural resources.

 

The Department of Agriculture, Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, Hawaii's Thousand Friends, Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter, Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, Kauai County Farm Bureau, and three concerned individuals supported this bill. A concerned individual opposed this measure.

Your Committees note that currently, covenants and other types of private agreements are being used to restrict agricultural activity on lands classified as agricultural. These restrictions make real farming operations difficult, if not impossible. Your Committees believe that this bill addresses this serious problem and preserves the use of agricultural land for agricultural purposes. Furthermore, it is the intent of your Committees that any covenants or private restrictions that do not conform to the law at the time that the covenant or restriction was agreed upon or signed by the parties involved should be void and unenforceable.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Agriculture and Water, Land Use, and Hawaiian Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 255, S.D. 2, and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

 

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

 

____________________________

EZRA R. KANOHO, Chair

____________________________

FELIPE P. ABINSAY, JR., Chair