Report Title:

Agricultural Leases; Advisory Panel

Description:

Requires the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to establish an advisory panel to review applicants seeking to pre-qualify for DLNR agricultural leases. Establishes forfeiture penalties for non-compliance.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1961

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2006

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to agricultural leases.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Chapter 171, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§171- Pre-qualification; agricultural lease advisory panel; forfeiture of agricultural leases due to non-compliance. (a) The department shall establish an advisory panel known as the agricultural lease advisory panel. The agricultural lease advisory panel shall help ensure that only bona-fide farmers with viable agricultural plans are pre-qualified for agricultural leases managed by the department by:

(1) Interviewing each applicant seeking to pre-qualify for an agricultural lease;

(2) Reviewing the agricultural plan submitted by each applicant; and

(3) Submitting a publicly available recommendation on each applicant to the department.

(b) The agricultural lease advisory panel shall consist of:

(1) The chairperson of the board or the chairperson's designated representative;

(2) The chairperson of the board of agriculture or the chairperson's designated representative;

(3) The dean of the University of Hawaii college of tropical agriculture and human resources or the dean's designated representative; and

(4) Two members of the public, selected by the chairperson of the board of agriculture or the chairperson's designated representative, who are farmers located in the area surrounding the area of the agricultural lease, as determined by the department of land and natural resources, and who have volunteered to serve on the advisory panel.

The chairperson of the board, or the chairperson's designated representative, shall preside over meetings. Members shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for expenses, including travel expenses, necessary for the performance of their duties.

(c) In the event that an applicant who has been awarded an agricultural lease fails to substantially comply with the conditions and terms of the agricultural plan that the applicant had previously submitted under subsection (a)(2), the board shall terminate the lease and take possession of the leased land, pursuant to section 171-39."

SECTION 2. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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