House Standing Committee on Agriculture & Food Systems

Aloha Mai Kakou. Happy aloha Friday and happy tourism day at the Capitol. Welcome to the hearing for the House Committee on Agriculture and Food Systems. Today is Friday, March 7th. We're here at 10:30am for the 10:30am agenda and we're convening here at the Hawaii State capitol in room 325. I am Kirsten Kahaloa, chair of this committee.

And here we have with us today Representative Perruso who's filling in for our vice chair. Thank you for being here. And the rest of our committee will trickle in later just a couple housekeeping roles in order to allow as many people to testify today as possible. We have a two minute time limit per testifier.

If you have submitted testimony and you would like to stand on your- your written testimony, you can do so, more so to make sure we can endure in four session at noon today. If you're joining us via Zoom, please keep yourself muted and your video off while waiting to testify and after your testimony is complete.

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Such behavior may be grounds from removal from the hearing without any ability to rejoin us today. To start off our agenda today, the first item is SB 693, SD1, relating to the Food Hub Pilot Program. Appropriates funds for the continued implementation of the Food Hub Pilot Program. So, first to testify on this is Hawaii Department of Agriculture.

Good morning, Chair. Dean Matsukawa, Department of Agriculture. The Department stands on its written testimony in support.

Thank you very much. Next to testify is Hawaii Farm Bureau.

Good morning, Chair, Representative Perruso. Brian Miyamoto, here on behalf of the Hawaii Farm Bureau. You have our written testimony support. We would just like to, again, we support Food Hubs, and we'd like to see a continuation of this program.

It does provide access to our small farmers who maybe don't have access to all of the markets out there.

So, with our Farm to School Program and our essential regional kitchens, I think this would be critical in order to meet some of the demand that our DOE is going to see. What we are requesting is, at least in the Community Report, we know the, the amount has been blanked out.

If we could put in that it is—the request is $1.5 million and we're not asking for it within the Bill, but at least the Committee Report. So, as it moves through the House that they are aware, the other committees are aware that the request is for an additional $1.5 million to continue the program.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you. Hawaii Farmers Union, via Zoom.

Aloha, Chair, Representative Perruso. Hunter Heaivilin, Advocacy Director with Hawaii Farmers Union. Zooming in from very flat Oklahoma City. We stand on our written testimony in support, and we just want to highlight a couple of key pieces about food hubs.

Hawaii farm sizes and parcels have remained relatively unchanged for the vast majority of producers over the past century, yet the marketplace has transformed dramatically, from neighbor to neighbor, island to continent to globe.

The competition landscape has shifted significantly, and food hubs serve as a critical bridge, like cooperatives did for many years before them, to ensure that small and midsized farms have access to a diversity of markets. And they've shown, time and time again, that during disasters, their collection and distribution networks are a cornerstone of resilience.

And we view this funding as a critical mechanism to sustain and expand the critical services that they provide across the state. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you for your testimony. Next, we have Eden Farms Hawaii, via Zoom.

Thank you folks for your service. I just want to echo what Hunter just said. We are entering a global financial crisis and Hawaii is in a very unique position not only to defend ourselves and to protect ourselves with food sovereignty, but to send out a message of aloha that is much needed in the world right now.

By supporting food hubs, we give people the chance to come together. Breaking bread together and forming trusting relationships is really at the heart of everything that needs to happen.

I think everyone knows this and for many people they don't really understand how communities have been degraded and our relationship here between indigenous and colonial, between invasive and indigenous, our opportunity to really transition and to demonstrate how food can be grown in different microclimates.

We can focus our efforts here and invest our efforts in this way, better than any other way we can in any other investment that we might be able to make.

And as our economic system demonstrates greater and greater vulnerability, every dollar that we invest here in food hubs in our soil and educating our keiki in creating the facility for our kupuna to be elders and to create trusting relationships, intergenerational relationships. There is really no better way.

We can invest our money and every dollar that we take from the current existing system as it collapses and put it here into our communities and give local people the opportunity to be as productive as possible in raising our food here will be a dollar well spent. Thank you folks for your work. These are hard times.

Please, let's cross party lines. Let's find ways of coming together and getting beyond our differences and realizing that in a democracy, differences of opinion are a strength, not a weakness. Thank you guys all for your service.

Thank you for your testimony. We had 52 support testimonies from organizations and individuals, one with comments and no others wishing to testify at this time. Would anyone else wish to testify on this measure?

Aloha, Angela Melody Young, CARES, in strong support of the Food Hub Pilot Program and an appropriation of funds. So, basically, a Food Hub is a business or a group of businesses—I, I think the intention of this legislation is to create a group of like farmers market and businesses to manage distribution, processing, and marketing of locally grown farm food.

And so, creating like a network to utilize and maximize facility space, such as commercial kitchens, as well as to help the community learn about the healthy and nutritional aspects of farm grown food. So, I mean I'm sure you can read this on Google and learn something about it.

But I think what's lacking from the measure is measuring the disparity in Hawaii—what communities in Hawaii need farmers market and what districts need more food businesses and accessibility to food safety handler training. So, for example, which communities have BMX District zoning codes to be able to build commercial kitchen spaces?

Because generally, you cannot build a fully equipped commercial kitchen in a residential neighborhood. So, that's a county's zoning DPP issue. And so, I think to kind of outline the basic parameters to instruct the Pilot Program would be a really good idea. So yeah, just commenting. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Would anyone else wish to testify on this measure? Seeing none, we're going to move on the next measure on the agenda, SB 5—oh, any questions, Members of the Committee?

Deputy Director Wicker, sorry, I know you didn't provide testimony, but since you're here.

Yes.

So, there's been some conversation around changing the siting of this grant program. So, currently it's under the Department of Agriculture, and I'm just hearing conversations about actually having it become the responsibility, this grant program, the responsibility of ADC.

And because you sit on ADC's Board, I'm wondering what you thought of that proposition.

You know, I've not seen that proposition or that's not been brought to discussion.

So, I'm asking you cold.

Yeah. So, a grant program—under ADC, they could administer a grant program. Food pilots, food hubs, aggregate facilities, as you heard the testimony, are critical to not only the small farmers who can't afford the capital investment to get to certain markets that require food safety.

So, if this was asked of our Department, we would be interested and look forward to how to implement. We did have a request in our admin budget to do aggregate facility, as was mentioned, the connection to the farm to school, and we're learning that too.

If you want to get locally produced products onto the school menus, that middle piece is a food hub or aggregate facility to help the small farmers. So, I'd like—if we have to have a discussion on the ground, we'd be open to that.

I appreciate that feedback. Thank you. Thank you, Chair.

You're welcome.

You're welcome. Would any other Members have any questions? I got too excited to move on to the next agenda item. So, my apologies for skipping protocol of the Committee. We are now moving on to SB 552, SD 1, relating to agriculture.

Requires the Department of Agriculture to establish a healthy soils program, requires an annual report to the Legislature and appropriates funds. First to testify on this measure, Hawaii Department of Agriculture Friday Chair Cedric Gates.

On behalf of the Department of Agriculture. The Department stands on its written comments. Offering recommendations for this measure. Here for any question.

Thank you. Next to testify, Hawaii Farm Bureau Chair.

The Holy Farm here will stand on its written testimony in support.

Thank you. Next to testify, Hawaii Cattlemen's Council via Zoom. Not present, but in support. Next to testify is Hawaii Farmers Union in support via Zoom.

Thank you, Chair. Hunter Hevlin here on behalf of Hawaii Farmers Union. We stand in our written testimony in support of this measure and seeking a variety of amendments to house it in a Department that we believe will take up the mantle of the effort to address the critical need for healthy soils programming within the state.

Healthy soils are the foundation for resilient agricultural system. Yet Hawaii soil data and support programs remain fragmented and outdated. The Land Study Bureau classification system has not been updated since the 1960s and no longer reflects the modern realities of soil or land use.

Relatedly, soil health incentive programs like the compost reimbursement program or the COVID crop pilot program exist in isolation rather than part of a coordinated effort. Furthermore, Hawaii lags behind other states and the United States behind other countries in providing funds to hasten the adoption of agroecological production methods.

We view the amendments we propose to this Bill to update and refine our soil health our soil data statewide, to consolidate existing soil health programs and to expand regenerative agricultural practices across the state.

A study of California's Healthy Soils Program, which in part this Bill is modeled after that came out just this week, identified the long term effects of practice adoption through incentive programs exactly like the ones that we have that I believe with better structured we could see greater uptake of.

And we strongly support this measure and are happy to answer any questions about the variety of changes that we have proposed in part in concert with discussion with DOA and adc. So happy to answer any questions. Mahalo for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you Hunter, and thank you for your thorough amendments and language to make those adjustments. Next to testify is Gary Rosenberg on Zoom.

Thank you people. Again, food is energy. Healthy soils give us the opportunity to create food systems and other forms of energy by efficiently channeling photosynthetic energy. Photosynthesis is the origin of all wealth. Everything else really has its origins in photosynthesis.

The best way to maximize photosynthetic wealth is through healthy soils, through building microbial life by working with animals, in partnership with fungi, with bacteria, and again by training our keiki to create a form of wealth which will not only benefit us, but benefit all of our posterity.

We cannot really invest monies better than in our own soils and in our keiki and in creating systems utilizing technology to maximize our ability to restore our soils to health and excuse the roosters in the background. Thank you all again for your continued service to our people.

Thank you for your testimony. We had many, many individuals and organizations testify 72 in support, one with comments, but no others that have indicated they're wishing to testify at this time. Would anyone else wish to testify in SB552SD1? Please come to the podium.

Aloha, Angela Melody Young testifying in strong support of the Healthy Soils Program and an appropriation of funding.

So as watching this move with Jason Mamao at the Hawaii Theater Common Ground and it was explaining like all the agricultural processes on the farms and regenerative agriculture and the depletion of nutrients in the soil and then also how if the soil is disturbed then all the plants can't grow.

And so it's a very integrated system of soil plants, grass farming and the harvest. So in strong support. Thank you.

Thank you. Would anyone else wish to testify in this measure seeing non Members questions? Representative Perruso.

Actually Deputy Wicker, same question, same question. Because you know, as we kind of you know we're doing work to reframe the Department of Agriculture as the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity and really thinking about that agency as oriented more towards regulation.

AEDC naturally kind of rises to the surface as a space an institution which could be grown to do more of this economic development work. So not just the food hubs but also this kind of healthy soils work because it's really foundational to all of that development work.

So I'm wondering if you have taken a look at the farmers union recommendation and if you had an opportunity to provide a reply here or if you.

Wanted to do that represent Perruso. I'll take a look. I did not look at the testimony or the bill for 552. Let me take a look and get back a response to the Committee on that. Would that work?

Sure.

Great. Thank you. Yeah, thank you.

Like in two minutes.

Thank you. Deputy Director I have a quick question for Hawaii Farm Bureau.

So we notated and I am asking you this question, but it comes from the testimony from the Cattlemen's Council. But one of the comments was related to the Federal Government, you know, decreasing funding in this space, whether it's climate, Smart Agriculture, health.

But healthy soils is one of those items on the USDA chopping block, if it's not already gone already.

And so to Nicole Galasse and the Cattlemen Council's testimony I've been thinking about, is the original appropriation request enough for this measure and if so, what might be an appropriate amount to Fund this program, Understanding that the feds aren't able to probably support the efforts that they have provided to many in our state so far.

Brian Miyamoto, Hawaii Farm Bureau. Thank you, Chair. Could you repeat the question? And Nicole Galassi, Managing Director, Hawaii Cattleman did submit testimony and she's I guess there's some challenges on her getting online. So she is I think only watching via YouTube.

To answer your question, yes, we should we're going to need to look at how we fill a lot of the gaps that the federal funding that is either on pause have been cut or will be cut is going to that impact to Hawaii.

And a lot of these programs, healthy soils, conservation programs, we're already hearing from nrcs, from fsa, sorry, USD programs that are in jeopardy or have been jeopardized already. We understand other sectors are probably going to look at the Legislature for funding to fill their gaps. Homelessness, housing, everyone else. Right. But agriculture really needs some help.

We depended a lot on federal funding.

And you know, I hate to jump to another Bill that isn't on the agenda, but that's why the grant writer program is going to be even that much more critical to not only identify but to be able to access and to bring in those limited federal dollars that we believe will be there.

There will be some money there, but some of these programs, as you pointed out, specifically something like this is in jeopardy.

So yes, we are looking to the Legislature Fund as much as they can to allow the farmers and ranchers to have success and continue to grow the industry with the lack of funding that we believe we will be seeing this with the New Administration.

Thank you, Brian. We appreciate it. Do you have any further. zero, you're good. zero, you're good.

I have another I was going to comment about DVET.

I'm so if you'd like to speak for them, I'm not sure they would object. But if actually if I could have asked another question of Deputy Director, I don't mean to harass you, but I do have so many questions, particularly because of the context we find ourselves in.

And I'm curious as to whether we have just seen the tariffs from the federal Administration paused today. But I feel like it's a volatile situation and because we are so heavily dependent on imports, in particular of food from Canada and Mexico, I'm wondering if the Administration.

So the Governor and his team is really messaging to you folks that food security or food sovereignty has become a higher priority, or if that's not a conversation that you're having yet.

So, in short, yes, the Administration, we are talking about food security and resiliency. What we're finding through our plan, a deep-ed in our framework as we're addressing the economical challenges of our small and medium businesses, such as the farmers, in solving their solutions with facilities and equipment, we are moving towards food security and resiliency.

So you're checking off several things when we focus on food security and what the state can do as investment. And to your point, about Federal Government and the impacts, we are very reliant when it comes to federal aid in natural disasters.

If we can start to move towards the state financing and providing these facilities and equipment for the farmers to help not only for them to scale up, but that would also help decrease the reliance in federal aid as well as the time of their need during any natural disaster or when we need to help our communities with food and meals.

So, yes, we are having those conversations. Great.

I'm very happy to hear that. Thank you so much. Thank you. Chair.

Any further questions? Member of. Members of the Committee. Next, we're going to move on to SB 1186 SD2 relating to sustainable food systems, establishes a statewide Interagency Food System Systems Coordination Team and Interagency Food Systems Working Group within the Agribusiness Development Corporation. First to testify, testify on this measure is the ADC Vice Chair.

Didn't know the ADC was here to ask questions. Sorry. Deputy Director. Yeah. Hawaii Department of Agriculture.

Aloha, Chair. The Department of Agriculture stands on its written testimony in strong support of the intent of this measure and offering comments here for any questions. Mahalo.

Thank you. Next we have Ulupono Initiative. Thank you very much. We have Hawaii Farm Bureau.

Thank you, Chair, Representative, Producer Brian Miyamoto here on behalf of the Hawaii Farm Bureau. You have a written testimony in support. We support this. However, we do have some concerns. The current version of BUILD does not specify the composition of the team nor the working group.

So we're not sure how this is going to be implemented without figuring out who is on the working group, what the team looks like, what their authorities are and decision making, and who makes all these decisions. So it is in our testimony, as one of our.

That's our primary concern, and I hate to use the word concern, because we support this. And if there could be a little bit more clarity on how this thing is going to be put together, both the team and the working group, there's nothing really in the bill right now that suggests what those are going to look like.

But I also did want to point out we appreciate the Keiki behind us, which I believe is going to be testifying on this very important bill. So if we could have some clarity on what the team and the working group is going to look like, that would be beneficial. Mahalo.

Thank you very much. Eden Farms, Hawaii. Gary Rosenberg and Zoom.

Hi, folks. Thank you very much. If you haven't had an opportunity to check out Professor Joseph Tainter's work on the collapse of complex societies throughout history, I highly recommend it.

Basically, we are at a point now which every complex society throughout history has arrived at, and that is that we have created levels upon levels of bureaucrats in order to fulfill absolutely necessary needs. And there is always a point of diminishing returns.

There are points at which different levels of bureaucracy cannot, through nobody's fault, communicate indifferent amongst each other. And as a result, we create internal frictions and less of the purposes for which each bureaucracy was created rightfully is served.

This is a very important issue to address, so I'd like to really reinforce the concerns brought up by the former testifier. This is a very vital thing to do, but it can't be creating another level of bureaucracy which hinders everybody's good work. There needs to be ways of really readdressing structures internally acknowledging that there's nobody's fault.

But we've arrived at a point when the structures themselves are counterproductive. We have a small window of opportunity to really begin to come together and to sit and acknowledge that everybody's doing their best to do what they've been sent to Oahu to do.

But we really need to think outside the box and ask ourselves how much of our efforts are being productive and how much of them are really frustrating ourselves and and our constituencies. Thank you all again for your patience and for your service to our people.

Thank you very much for your testimony. We also have Hawaii Farmers Union via Zoom.

Thank you, Chair and Member Hunter Hevelin. On behalf of Hawaii Farmers Union, we stand in strong support of this measure. Hawaii has a long history of coordinated food system efforts to support agricultural progress, going back to the late 1800s. Recognizing Forest's role in supplying water for cities and irrigation, we established our Forest Reserve program.

In the 1950s, a produce information exchange effort helped align production with market demand. In the 70s, the governor's Agriculture Coordinating Committee facilitated interagency collaboration on agricultural policy. And in the 1980s, our functional agricultural plans from the Department of Agriculture guided land use and investment strategies.

Each of these initiatives created the structure necessary for informed decision making, resource alignment and agricultural development in this century. We need something akin.

And so we stand in strong support of this measure and would like to similarly echo some of what the Farm Bureau had shared the importance of restoring some of the dedicated staffing and funding that were in previous versions of this bill.

I believe that we can be somewhat loose on trying to be as explicit about the WHO participates. That had led to previous versions of the bill being mired in a laundry list of I think at 1.0 we had 30 different groups that were signed on.

I think the statement of there will be robust planning could be sufficient, but in the absence of staffing and funding for that staffing, no planning is possible. So we stand in strong support of this measure. Happy to answer any questions and mahalo for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you for your testimony. We also have Hawaii Food Industry Association via Zoom, not present but in support. And we have 35 others with support testimony and two comments total. Would anyone else wish to testify in this measure?

Morning, Chair and Representative. My name is Amanda Shaw. I'm here in my capacity as Director of Food Systems at Oahu Resource Conservation Development Council. We have submitted written testimony.

Just wanted to echo as folks that have been involved in standing up the preliminary dimension of this work and bringing together a sustainable Food Systems Working Group in the LATTER Part of 2024, we'd really like to see the language included again that relates to not only the backbone staffing and appropriations that would support a team, but also perhaps the Members of that working group that could be, in a sense the steering Committee for this effort.

We recognize there's so many areas that folks have expertise on. Don't want to exclude exclude anyone, but just recognize the practicalities of needing a robust team that can help pull that together.

And I think we've seen evidence of that in the SCR111 from session 2024 that we're able to come together, we're able to look at some of the crises that we're facing around food insecurity, even much more heightened in this moment where we are uncertain about federal support for that.

So as a structure that can come together, help us coordinate our investments, help us bring together players on a number of efforts from food hubs into regional kitchens and beyond, we are, we would be very excited to see that return in the bill.

The SCR 111 as a steering Committee perhaps could be some of the language that could be considered and to see some appropriations that would support staff in that role. Thank you so much.

Thank you for your testimony. Would anyone else wish to testify in this measure? If you would. Please just state your name for the record.

Aloha, Representative Puruso and Kahaloa. O Star Wu Ka'uinoa. And I am a 17 year old Hawaii youth. It is very prominent that food insecurity is one of the most deadly issues for the State of Hawaii. And it is for this reason that I believe that The Senate Bill 1186 should be passed.

I believe that we all have a right to food and I believe that lately locally grown food has been seen as as a privilege. I strongly disagree with this viewpoint.

I believe that my cousin at the hospital, who needs locally sourced foods, who needs healthy foods, deserves to have this right and that this interagency food systems coordination team can help get him that.

I believe my father at prison, who, despite his poor choices with what he's put in his body, should have the opportunity to put more healthier items into his food and his stomach as well. I believe my peers at school deserve to have this locally sourced food.

And I believe that everyone in Hawaii should have, should be able to know where the food is coming from and that we can be resourceful and resilient on our own without any help from the mainland or other interagencies or international support as tariffs are rising.

It is for these reasons that I believe that this interagency food system coordination team could be the glue to the broken food system and insecurity that Hawaii currently has. I appreciate the vagueness of the team, actually, because it allows for more growth. It allows for possibly a youth seat.

It allows for other organizations like the ones represented here to take place in a structural, structural support system to support Hawaii security. And it is for these reasons I stand in strong support of of Senate Bill 1186. Mahalo nui.

Thank you for your testimony. Who would like to testify next? Please join us and then we'll do theed.

Hello, my name is Talia David and I came here today mainly to talk about the Bill 1186. I come from Lahaina Luna. And as we all know, the Lahaina of fire has took out a lot of our land and a lot of our food systems.

And as someone that goes to Lahaina Luna and is a student there, I just find it very interesting about how we need to always worry about food. And also being at Lahaina, the food costs so much to the point that you would think that like, this can't be real.

I, I just have to say that I think we really need, need this bill to pass mainly because not just on Maui, but also I can tell from other lands that the food enter, the food has not been that good.

And we all, all of us are human and we deserve to have something to eat and not just something that we don't like. And again, I also agreed that this bill will be the glued to the food systems as it has gone way below than it should be.

The food systems should not have gone way below as we already know. And the food system is, we know we need food in our bodies and everywhere with us.

And with this bill, not only will it help Lahaina, but it will also help the family in need and the family that need food, food and night, especially the kids. Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony. Would anyone else wish to testify in this measure? Any other students? Please join us.

Aloha. My name is Aliana Pulino. I come from Maui. I reside in Waikapu. I think SB 1186 should be passed, especially because I come from a family of seven, a lot. My household was filled with them and my parents. My dad worked three jobs, barely home.

My mom stayed at her job for 13 hours or more as a school secretary just to get food on the table. It really hurts me to like not see them as much as I want to, especially because I have school and stuff.

And I just don't want the future generation to grow up without their parents home and with food insecurities thinking what the next meal is going to be.

And I think it would be really important for people in the hospital and prisons to get the food that they need and want and the nourishment that they need in their bodies. And also my dad said like, if he was to go to the hospital, he wouldn't eat and like, I don't want that.

So I think that's really important too. So thank you for your time and your work. Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony. Would anyone else wish to testify on this measure, please join us at the podium.

Aloha. My name is Leilani and I'm A junior in high school, I'm a strong support of this bill because growing up in a single mother household, sometimes there's a point in time we had to grow some of our nutritious food and knowing that the local nutritious food in stores were too expensive, so we grew it ourselves.

And knowing that on Oahu in such a lush place, we are able to grow this food and it shouldn't be just like an accessibility thing if I can afford it and it should not be just a luxury.

Growing up in a place where this should be the reality where we should be able to get this wherever we go because this is our home and this is our island. This should be accessible for everyone regardless of if they can afford it or not.

It should just be accessible because we live here and this is our home. Thank you.

Thank you.

Please join us next.

Good morning. My name is Akishi Kithug, a 15 year old high school student at Rapoe High School on Oahu. I'm also going to serve as a 2025-2026 Hawaii Future Farmers America Association secretary. Being an FFA for the past three years, I've seen firsthand what food insecurity looks like.

Before, I was never interested in agriculture, but now learning about this, we see how important it is. And historically, Hawaii, you are able to feed thousands of people on the same land we reside on today, yet we import so much of our food. My first introduction to food was with my family.

Whenever I come home they'd say, did you eat yet? Come on, come eat with us. It's a huge cultural glue that has been brought up at the We Grow Summit a little while earlier.

And because of that I believe the privilege, it shouldn't be a privilege, as what has been saying in previous testimony, to eat local food, we shouldn't have to rely on mainland other countries, we should rely on ourselves. We have so much land available and it's time to use it.

With this agency we'll be able to solve one of our most pressing issues in the era of climate change, sustainability and self reliance. We support this bill and we hope for it to go through not only for my future, but for our future. We strongly support this bill.

Thank you for your testimony. Please join us next. One more one.

Aloha, Representative Perruso and Chair Kahloa. My name is Nicholas Nishimura. I'm proud to say that I will be serving as the 2025-2026 Hawaii FFA State President. When I started my journey in agriculture in the seventh grade, a couple of Years ago, I didn't know just how connected everything in the agricultural.

As I sat in a line waiting for food at Waipahu elementary during COVID when grocery store shelves ran dry, I didn't realize all the hands, whether in the mainland or at home, working on food to feed the people that live in the state that I love so much.

Being born and raised on Oahu and growing up in a community where a lot of our students are Low income and a lot of my friends are worried about when their next meals are going to be provided on their tables.

Agriculture and the people behind it has become one of the most pressing issues that I think about on a day to day basis and that I hope to fight for in the years to come and the years that I have in high school currently.

When it comes to interagency work and it comes to connecting people, there's no better purpose or no better reason for people to fight for and connect than agriculture. Food is the one thing that truly connects us all. We all need it to survive, we all need it to progress.

And without it, none of that progression that we talk about today can happen. As the state makes these commitments to these sustainability goals, there's a lot of buzzwords. Climate change, global warming, sustainability, and that last word, sustainability.

What it truly means is for a group of people, whether they're in Hawaii or whether they're in America or anywhere else in the world, to be truly independent from places far across the water or far across the continent that we have to pay for. We need to be able to be reliant on ourselves and with each other.

And through an interagency effort, through the work promised In Senate Bill 1186, we can start making that work happen. I'd like to close my testimony with a quote that's become very central to my work today. And that is the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. And the second best time is, is today.

We can keep going over the structure of this bill and we can keep talking about the specifics, but if we don't start to work today, then none of that impact on the future can truly happen. So I stand in strong support of this bill and believe that it should be passed for the students today.

That will be the future of tomorrow and all the people of today that need food on their tables that don't have it yet. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you students for your testimony. Deputy Director Wicker, we appreciate you joining us today.

Good morning, Chair. Representative Peruso Dane Wicker Deputy Director DBED Standing on our written testimony and support and additional comments.

So questions that were asked of me earlier with the discussion about resiliency, security and just within the first page of this bill, it highlights all of those aspects and it really fits well within Dark and Agribusiness Development Corporation in checking off a lot of these areas of responsibility.

The good news is that things are already in discussion and moving forward to addressing some of these systems. Just the mandates alone. If you look at the mandates that are outlined in this bill, we all agree on the doubling of food production, the increasing of locally produced, locally farmed produce on our DOE mills.

But how to do it is the challenge. So this bill does set up the the group to figure out how to do it. I do have one request I didn't put in our testimony. We would be asking for one FTE, temporary FTE to help with the commodity mapping.

So just in short, when you look at the mandates in here, whether it's the Act 176 to get the other state agencies to procure local DOE's as well as the doubling of food as outlined in our testimony, we're working with opsd, doa, DOE and ctahr.

And it might not necessarily look at doubling food, but how do you reduce that 90% down to maybe 30 or 20% as the goal? And understand that we are looking at the current produce and livestock that we provide now, what we're importing, where that can be grown and what the land use is for that.

But part of that is capacity. And so we need somebody else, somebody within DBED or ADC to help us map that out.

And then from there we can start to look at, okay, what's the land acquisitions we got to do, the irrigation acquisitions we got to do, the facilities that we got to do for the inputs from the farmers to preparing the product and to export it out to, whether it's the schools, the other state departments or to just our communities.

So with that, we'd ask if in the bill or in the Committee report so the money Committee can consider one position.

Thank you. Would anyone else wish to testify in this measure? Please join us.

Angela Melody Young testifying in strong support of the Interagency Food Systems Working Group. So this will help to enhance locally grown food production and expedite distribution while integrating collaboration to improve access to food for communities, especially those experiencing disproportionate disparities and unequal access to financial resources and assets to be able to get healthy, nutritious, locally grown food.

So communities that suffer from economic injustice Communities experiencing incarceration and recidivism because of a lack of adequate financial resources and have to beg for food or communities experiencing emergencies such as Lahaina. How will this group help to speed up distribution for that? I think it's going to be a very important mission to fulfill in this measure.

And this act can help with reducing the disparities of socioeconomic injustice while growing the awareness of sustainability and helping students empower their voice in this democracy to raise a brighter generation. Thank you.

Thank you. Would anyone else wish to testify in this measure? See none. Members questions? Just one quick question for Deputy Director Wicker. You. You asked about an appropriation for an FTE. Is there. Do you need a General appropriation to facilitate the program or is an FTE sufficient?

One for now. It's one. As we're going through this process with the mapping of the commodities, one position would be sufficient. Not an appropriation, just a temporary position.

Okay, perfect. Thank you very much.

Okay.

We're seeing no further questions from the committee. We're going to move on to the next bill. SB 448 SD1 relating to agriculture appropriates funds to the Agribusiness Development Corporation to acquire a conservation easement in central Oahu. First to testify on this measure is Hawaii Department of Agriculture.

The Department of Agriculture stands on it's written testimony in strong support of this measure. Here for any questions, mahalo.

Thank you. Next to testify is ADC. Thank you, Hawaii Farm Bureau.

Thank you, chair. Brian Miyamoto, Executive Director, of the Hawaii Farm Bureau. How awesome are those students. Hawaii Farm Bureau stands on it's written testimony in support.

Hawaii Farmers Union on Zoom.

Thank you, chair, member. Hunter Heaivilin on behalf of Hawaii Farmers Union. We'll send in our written testimony in support and really want to highlight that farmland loss is farmland lost fore- forever. As development pressures intensify. We must decisively act to protect our prime forest farmland for future generations.

Hawaii lags behind other states with similar counts and sizes of farms in permanently protecting farmland due to a lack of investment in purchase of agricultural conservation easement or PACE programs that have demonstrated efficacy across the country.

So for that reason, we strongly support the acquisition of this conservation easement at central Oahu and hope to see future investments in a similar vein going forward. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you for your testify- testimony. We have no others indicating they wish to testify in this measure. Would anyone else wish to testify on this measure? Seeing none. Members questions? Seeing none. We're going to move on to the next measure on our agenda.

SB 1547, SD 1, relating to special purpose revenue bonds to assist Aloun Kauai farming and agricultural enterprise in the finance, operation, and maintenance of a project to revitalize the dairy industry. So, this is a...request. First to testify on this measure is Department of Budget and Finance.

Good morning, Chair. Louis Oliveria from B&F. We will stand on our testimony providing comments. Be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you. Next to testify is Hawaii Farm Bureau.

Thank you to the—Hawaii Farm Bureau stands on its written testimony in support.

Thank you. Would anyone else wish to testify in this measure? I think we have someone representing Aloun.

Morning, Chair, Representative Perruso. I'm Joshua Ihara, west choir resident and farmer. Also, the President of the Kekaha Agriculture Association. Here by request for Alex Hsu, he's feeling unwell today and sends his apologies for his inability to attend so., but I am also here in strong support, personally, as well.

Thank you. Would anyone else wish to testify in this measure? We had a total of four in support, seven in opposition, and one with comments. Seeing none. Members, questions? Seeing none. We are going to move on to the next measure, SB 1023, SD 1, relating to the spaying and neutering of animals.

Establishes the Spay and Neuter Special Fund to reduce pet overpopulation and the reproduction of—reproduction of free roaming cats. Establishes various revenue and fundraising sources for the Special Fund. First to testify on this measure, I'm sure, is B&F.

Good morning, Chair. Louis Oliveira, Director of Finance. Morning, Representative Perruso. I'm here testifying, and we will stand on our comments. I just want to say that the Department is supportive of the particular Bill. We want to see it successful.

We just believe that the Department of Budget and Finance is probably not the most appropriate Department that this Bill—and this very important program should be administered by. Thank you.

Thank you. Next, is DOE Tax.

Good morning, Chair, Vice Chair. Harrison...on behalf of the Department of Taxation...

Thank you. We also have the Attorney General's Office here in person.

Good morning, Chair, Representative. Kelcie Nagata, Deputy Attorney General, providing comments on SB 1023, SD 1. The Bill establishes a Special Fund within the Department of Budget and Finance, but codifies it within Chapter 143, which is relating to the Department of Agriculture.

Further, the committees established by law should usually be attached to a Department and is not created currently attached to a Department. We have provided suggested revisions in our written testimony and I'm available for any further questions. Thank you.

Thank you. Next, we have the Hawaii Humane Society in person.

Aloha, Chair, Acting Vice Chair. Stephanie Kendrick with the Hawaiian Humane Society. We are in strong support of this measure. Pet overpopulation is an intense issue in our state.

All of the animal welfare organizations in all four counties are full with animals who are in need of new homes and getting affordable and accessible spay and neuter out to the community is one of our best ways to reduce those populations and make sure that the animals that we have do have loving homes.

I want to spend my allowed time though really pushing back against the those who oppose the fact that this Bill also supports Trap, Neuter, Return, Manage, which is the humane management of free roaming cats. They will argue that TNR—that the science proves TNR doesn't work. That is inaccurate.

What the science says is that you have to do extremely high levels of TNR in order for it to reduce populations. We haven't yet been able to succeed in doing that as a community because we haven't had the funding.

So, this Bill is a step in the right direction when it comes to reducing our free roaming cat population. I would also point out that the only alternative conservation has is lethal control, which DLNR already has the right to do on its properties and is wildly unpopular in, you know, our residential, commercial, industrial areas.

It is not supported by the public. TNR is a strategy that we can get an army of volunteers to help us do, at their own expense, which is incredible. We're not going to do that with lethal control.

And if you look at, you know, the cat killing contests in Australia and New Zealand, I don't think that's the kind of community we want to create. So, I would suggest that the Committee support this measure in all of its contributions to reducing both the pet overpopulation and free roaming cat population in our state.

Thank you very much and I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you. Next to testify is American Bird Conservancy, via Zoom.

Aloha, Chair, Representative Perruso, Members of the Committee. Grant Sizemore, American Bird Conservancy, speaking in opposition to Senate Bill 1023. The Bill would Intentionally keep cats roaming in the environment, which is essentially the problem here. It inappropriately allocates public funds to programs that sterilize cats and then re-abandon them to the landscape.

Contrary to what proponents may claim, the strategy is neither humane nor effective and perpetuates nuisances and ongoing harms to animals and people. Cats, whether sterilized or not, are an invasive predator in Hawaii that have already contributed to multiple species extinctions and significant declines in Hawaii's remaining endangered birds. Sterilized cats still kill wildlife.

Cats are also the sole source of environmental contamination with the parasite that causes toxoplasmosis. This parasite is excreted in cat feces and can infect virtually all birds and mammals, including people. Anyone can be infected, but that infection is particularly dangerous for immune compromised or pregnant people and is why doctors advise that pregnant women avoid changing cat litter.

But for cats that continue to roam outdoors, the entire environment is a litter box, and studies in Hawaii have repeatedly found widespread cat-caused contamination. As an agricultural pollutant, this parasite is also the second leading cause of death among foodborne illnesses in the United States and can be transmitted via livestock or produce.

Hawaii residents have repeatedly expressed that they do not want stray and feral cats roaming the environment. For example, a UH study found that 78% want the cats removed permanently, not sterilized and released.

Solutions to the cat population challenge must not sacrifice the health and welfare of domestic animals, wildlife, and people, especially now as federal conservation professionals tasked with protecting public lands have been targeted for elimination. Hawaii's birds and other wildlife are particularly vulnerable at this time. Ask that you please oppose Senate Bill 1023.

Thank you for your testimony. Next, we have the Tax Foundation of Hawaii, via zoom.

Good morning, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. Tom Yamachika, Tax Foundation of Hawaii. We do not take a position on the program that is sought to be funded. We do have some comments on the method of funding.

We wanted to point out that the Department of Taxation and testimony before the Ways and Means Committee said that the program would probably produce $100,000 a year through the check off. I think it takes more than $100,000 to set the check off up in the first place.

So, it seems to us that an income tax checkoff for something like this is not efficient. It could be, you know, done more simply and easily by appropriating public funds. We do also have a concern with the special Fund.

We have too many special funds, and special funds, in general, tend to decrease accountability of the agencies that administer them. I'd be happy to answer any questions. Thank you very much for the opportunity.

Thank you very much. Is there anyone else wishing to testify in this measure? Please join us and state your name for the record.

Aloha, Chair and Rep. Perruso. My name is Tom Hollowock and I'm here representing the Popoki Place Oahu Cat Sanctuary.

Now, the purpose of this is to use the Lanai Cat Sanctuary as a proof-of-concept model to create a sanctuary here on Oahu which, after the feral cats are trapped and neutered, they are then managed in a fenced-in enclosure where they cannot escape, and they are taken care of for the rest of their life.

Now, if we could—if the gentleman from the Bird Conservancy is still listening, I hope he is—we need to work together on this because the concept of trap and neuter works. Every fertile cat is sitting on top of a pyramid of progeny. Exponential progression of every animal that is not fixed.

So, what we need to do is act as a safety valve to the people who are trapping and neutering, and I'm going out tomorrow night to Waimanalo and we have 18 cages and we're ready to go out and do that. However, right now, they do have to go back onto the landscape.

What we're proposing is an area where the cats are put for the rest of their life. Now, the problem that we have is that there is not enough funding to do the spay and neuter program. It's a medical procedure. Trained doctors have to perform this.

And we actually are having a hard time keeping trained doctors here on Oahu in general. Trained veterinarians who can do this find the high cost of living extreme. So, there is a cost to every one of these who gets fixed, and there's never been an organized way to fund this.

So, we applaud the reason behind this, and we think that it is the state's Kuleana to manage their invasive species. And even though cats were brought here on ships to control the rats which were eating the food, since we're talking about food, they had a good reason to come here.

However, human beings have let this get out of control. So, we feel that it is our Kuleana. We're doing this without any help from the city or the state.

But we feel that this is a very hopeful measure that a lot of people have gotten together in the Senate and in the House who acknowledge that the state needs to step up and start to do something to create the money to at least fund the medical parts of these procedures.

Now, the Trappers, who Stephanie referred to, like our organization, we're kind of taking up the rest of the slack. We're the safety valve to the thing that's just about to explode, but there needs to be money to fund the neutering. And if the bird people can get together with us.

The idea is that it works if you do it enough. And if you do this program and you trap the cats and you neuter them and then put them some way where they're not near the beaches, they're not anywhere near where the otoliths or the toxoplasmosis cysts are spread into the water, it's, it's the solution.

So far, no one has put together all the pieces. So, we're here to support this Bill, and we're here to provide the final piece, which does not exist on Oahu. It exists on Lanai. And anyone who's been there can tell you that it's a successful program. There are no more feral cats on the island of Lanai.

Granted, there is a size change, and it will take a while, but it's our first step, and this Bill is the first solid funding source that has been proposed in all the years that I've lived in Hawaii, which is 28 now. So, thank you very much, and I'm available for questions.

Thank you for your testimony. Would anyone else wish to testify in this measure?

Aloha, Angela Melody Young, from ROAR, Rescue of Animal Rights, in strong support of the appropriation of funds. So, I think this discussion with this specific Bill, it's been going back and forth for the last, I think, like, two or three years, and there's no agreement on the scientific evidence of the efficiency of a trap and neuter program.

And yet, in the community, there are a bunch of groups that are organizing the trap and neuter surgeries, and without much help from the city or the state. So, for example, we rescue kittens in the neighborhood.

And trap and neuter is something that the nurses, the veterinarians, and the surgeons all organize on the weekends during their free time to provide such services to the community. And the cat community organizes efforts to assist with mitigating this concern, which is a statewide concern. I'm sure there are constituents everywhere that complain about cats.

And I think also it's a very distorted discussion because there are bird people, and then there are also cat people. So, and so, for years, the cat community has coordinated these surgery clinics, provided care.

Can you, can you, can you focus on the merits of the measure of the Bill specifically?

Yes. Okay. So, specifically, for an appropriation, if the state offices cannot figure out the internal structuring for what Department should be assigned the responsibility, then perhaps it should look at the County's Office, which is already implementing funds to support animal rescue.

So, yeah, and the Humane Society gets vouchers, which is something I think is from the City Council appropriation, so that works well because it's trap and neuter for low-income people. And so, if the state is having a difficult time coming up with a funding structure that—then look at something that works instead of what's not working.

Thank you.

Thank you. Would anyone else wish to testify on this measure? Seeing no, no other testifiers. Members, any questions? Seeing none, we're going to move to decision making.

But thank you to everyone who testified today, especially to our students who came from across the state, including those from elementary school to high school, to be with us at this hearing. So, moving on to decision making. SB 693, SD 1, relating to the Food Hub Pilot Program.

We're going to pass this or move this measure along for discussion with amendments. Change the effective date to July 1st, 3000. We do want to note the appropriation amount in our committee so it's easier for the Finance Committee to deliberate on this bill and that is it. Members, any questions? Vice Chair for the vote.

Chair's recommendation on Senate Bill 693, SD 1 is to pass with amendments. Chair and Vice Chair voting I. Representative Lowen?

I.

Noting the absence of Representative Kusch. Representative Quinlan.

I.

And also noting the absence of the excused absence of Representative Ward. Chair, your recommendation has been adopted.

Thank you. Moving on to SB 552 SD1 relating to agriculture. We are going to make a house draft of this bill and change the effective date to July 1st, 3000. Make tech amendments needed for clarity, consistency, and style.

I do want to note that we are going to keep this program with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture at this time and we're going to take all the recommendations and the great work that Hawaii Farmers Union took, except for changing it to the ADC, but all the other notations to this great preamble that was written and the other notations.

We would really like to see that amendment in this bill. And we want to acknowledge that there are funding deficits at the federal government for this at this time.

So we want to note in the committee report that, if possible, if they could increase the appropriation from that original 500,000 request and consider upping that understanding what's happening at the federal level and how much support this bill is receiving at this time and that will be all members. Any questions, comments, concerns? Seeing none. Vice Chair for the vote.

On SB 552, Chair's recommendation is pass with amendments. Chair and Vice Chair voting I. Noting the excused absence of Representative Kusch and Representative Ward. Are there any reservations or no votes? Seeing none. Chair, your recommendation has been adopted.

Thank you. Moving on to SB 1186 SD2. This is relating to sustainable food systems. We would like to create an HD 1 and defect the date to July 1st, 3000, make tech amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

We are going to change this back to an appropriation bill and put in the bill a spot for an FTE and blank the FTE, but noting the standing committee report that the ADC and DBED recommend one position for this request if it were to move forward. Members, any questions or concerns? Seeing none. Vice Chair for the vote.

On SB 1186 SD2, Chair's recommendation is to pass with amendments. Chair and Vice Chair voting I. Again noting the excused absences of Rep. Kusch and Rep. Ward, which will hold for the remainder of this hearing. Are there any reservations or no votes? Seeing none. Chair, your recommendation has been adopted.

Thank you. Moving on to SB 448 SD1, relating to agriculture. We'd like to create a house draft one for this bill, change the effective date to July 1st, 3000, make tech amendments for clarity, consistency, and style and there were questions from our drafting agency on strengthening the title language with the intent of the measurement.

So to make sure that we strengthen that language, we want to make an amendment on page 2 line 15 and then repeat that on page 2 line 20 and 21 and just insert agricultural land.

So the new sentence would read the ADC to acquire a conservation easement on agricultural lands in central Oahu and repeat that in the appropriation just to be consistent and make sure that the request matches the the title. Members, any questions? Concerns? Seeing none. Vice Chair for the vote.

On SB 448 SD1 chair's recommendation is pass with amendments. Chair and Vice Chair voting I. Are there any no's or reservations? Seeing none. Chair, your recommendation has been adopted.

Thank you so much. Moving on to SB 1547 SD1. This is the SPRB request for Aloun Kauai Farming. We have some questions for the Attorney General's Office that we didn't get clarity on and so we are going to defer the decision making on this bill to Wednesday, March 12th at 10am and do decision making at that time. Thank you members. Any questions or concerns on that?

Thank you members. Moving on to our last measure, SB 1023 SD1 relating to the spay and neutering of animals. We are going to make a house draft one and change the effective date to July 1, 3000.

Make make some tech amendments for clarity, consistency, and style just like we did with the house draft version or the house companion of this bill. We're going to take DOE tax's recommendations.

We're also going to try a different angle to see if we can move this bill forward this time and take budget and finances recommendations and move this to the county's purview because that keeps coming up in the questions who will manage these folks funds and at that at this time we're going to try something different to see if we can move the Senate Bill forward.

Members, any questions or concerns? Seeing none. Vice Chair for the vote.

On SB 1023 SD1, Chair's recommendation is pass with amendments. Chair and Vice Chair voting I. Are there any reservations or no votes? Seeing none. Chair, your recommendation has been adopted.

Thank you. Thank you members for being here today and thank you Rep. Perruso for being our acting Vice Chair for the day. Thank you for being here folks. Have a wonderful Friday. No more business on our agenda today.