House Standing Committee on Agriculture & Food Systems

Good morning. This is the Committee on Agriculture and Food Systems in Conference Room 325 here at the state capital, scheduled for today, which is April 8, 10 AM committee hearing. Thank you, everyone, for being here in person and on Zoom. My name is Matthias Kusch. I'm the vice chair of the Agriculture Committee.

Couple ground rules I'll go over before we start. Because the morning hearings must adjourn prior to the floor session, all testifiers may have the opportunity to testify. In that event, please know that your written testimony will be considered by the committee. In order to allow as many people to testify as possible, there will be a two minute time limit per testifier. We may waive that if necessary.

Okay. For those on Zoom, please keep yourself muted and your video off while waiting to testify and after your testimony is complete. The Zoom chat function will allow you to chat with technical staff only. Please use the chat only for technical issues. If you are disconnected unexpectedly, you may attempt to rejoin the meeting.

If disconnected while presenting your testimony, you may be allowed to continue if time permits. Please note the house is not responsible for any bad Internet connections on the testifier's end. In the event of a network failure, it may be necessary to reschedule a hearing or schedule a meeting for decision-making. In that case, an appropriate notice will be posted. Please avoid using any trademarked or copyrighted images if you're using Zoom background.

Please refrain from any profanity or unsung behavior. Such behavior may be grounds for removal from the hearing without the ability to respond. Finally, we have a new microphone system in the house conference rooms. The microphones are now on the ceiling, so please be aware that any site conversations may be picked up. K.

Morning. Moving on to our agenda. First on our agenda, we have HCR 31 and HR 31 recognizing 2026 as the international year of rangelands and pastoral pastoralists in Hawaii. First up to testify in person, we have Brian Miyamoto from Hawaii Farm Bureau.

Vice chair, chair, representative Perruso, representative Matsumoto, and Brian Miyamoto here on behalf of the Hawaii Farm Bureau and, apparently, the entire agriculture sector here in the state of Hawaii. We will stand on our written testimony in support of these two resolutions. Rightly acknowledging how important our rangelands are and our pastoralists are. And if the committee would maybe consider instead of international, global or universal year of the Rangeland and customers. Pretty sure Nicole wouldn't want that.

But, anyway, we support this. We support our our ranchers on Paniogo. And thank you for this is rezo to give them the the credit that they're due. Aloha.

Thank you. Next up, we have Nicole Galassie from Hawaii Cattlemen's Council on Zoom.

Aloha, chair, vice chair, members of the committee. This is Nicole Galase on behalf of the Hawaii Cattlemen's Council. We are in strong support of this resolution because we do want that recognition of the benefits that come from well managed rangelands. These are benefits that go outside of the ranch to the surrounding community, things like wildfire mitigation, groundwater infiltration improvement, increased water, increased carbon sequestration. And this is something that is actually being celebrated internationally right now, the International Year of the Rangelands and Pestoralist.

And it's something we just wanna recognize in Hawaii as well to show that we do see the benefits that come from well managed rangelands. And on top of all the benefits, one of the top ones is that there is the food production from beef. Thank you very much for your consider.

Thank you. That's all the people we have listed. For testimony, is there anybody in the audience who would like to testify who has not testified already? Anybody on Zoom? Seeing none.

We had two people in support, zero in opposition, and zero comments. Members, chair, is there any questions for our testifiers.

Seeing none. Moving on to HCR94 HD1 and HR86 HD1. Virginia Department of Education and Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to jointly develop a farmer-to-institution coordination plan that is aligned with the INA kitchen network rollout? First up, we have Brian Miyamoto from Hawaii Farm Bureau in person.

Hello, Brian Miyamoto here on behalf of Hawaii Farm Bureau, in support.

Thank you. On Zoom, we have, Nicole Galase from Hawaii Cattlemen's Council. Not present. Is there anybody else who would like to testify in person? Anybody on Zoom?

Okay. Seeing none. We had two in support, zero opposition, and zero in comments. Chair, Members questions? Seeing none.

We're gonna move on to HCR 24, HR 23. Requesting the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to conduct a study on Hawaii's food manufacturing strengths and strategic markets. Okay. We have Lauren Sorbel from Hawaii Food Industry on Zoom. Not present.

And that's it. Apologies here. We had five in support, zero in opposition, zero comments. Is there anybody else who would like to testify on this measure? Sir?

Our apologies, Brian Miyamoto, for the record, on behalf of the Hawaii Farm Bureau. We we did submit written testimony in support. So if you the committee has not received it, we do have a copy. But we are in support of of this resolution in support of any effort to utilize or to encourage more value added utilizing locally grown and produced agricultural products.

Thank you.

Thank you. Is there anybody else who would like to testify? Anybody on Zoom? Members, questions? Okay.

Seeing none, we are gonna take a brief recess before we go into decision making. Welcome back to the 10 AM agricultural Agriculture Committee hearing. We are doing decision making. On items for us today. First up.

Next up, we have HCR 31 HR 31, recognizing 2026 as International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists in Hawaii. We like this resolution, and we had good testimony, and we are going to be moving this forward as is. Members, are there any questions? Concerns? Seeing none, Vice Chair for the vote. I'm sorry. Chair for the vote.

Okay. So, okay, members. We're gonna take this in tandem. So we are voting on HCR 31 HR 31. Recommendation is to pass unamended. Chair and Vice Chair vote aye. [Roll call]. Chair, your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you, chair. Next, we're gonna be voting on HCR 94 HD1 and HR 86 HD1. With this measure as well, we are gonna be moving forward as is. Committee members, is there a quest any nays? Any questions?

I'm sorry. Any questions or concerns? Vice chair for the vote.

Alright. Members voting on HCR 94 and HR 86. Recommendation Oh, HCR 94 HD one and HR 86 HD one. Recommendation is to pass unamended, including an excused absence of representatives Quinlan and. Are there any observations?

Any noes? Seeing none, chair, your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you, chair. Next up, we have HCR 24 and HR 23. We had good input on this, and we are gonna take, some of the recommendations and testimony, and that is to add on page four, lines four through nine, the Department of Business, Economic, and Tourism submit, proposed policy recommendations twenty days prior to the 2027 legislature. And then we also have some technical amendments needed to clarify for clarity, consistency, and style. Members, are there any questions or concerns?

Seeing none, chair for the vote.

Right members, we are voting on HCR 24 and HR 23. Recommendation is to pass with amendments. Billing excused absence of Doctor. Quinlan. Any reservations?

Any nos? Seeing none, chair your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you, chair. Members, we are adjourned. Good morning. This is the committee on joint committee on agriculture and food systems and energy and environmental protection in Conference Room 325 here at the state capital scheduled for today, April 8 at 10:15AM. Thank you everyone for being here in person and on Zoom.

My name is Matthias Kush. I am vice chair of the agriculture and food systems committee. Here's some ground rules before we move on. Because morning hearings must be adjourned before floor session, not all testifiers may have the opportunity to testify. In that event, please know that your written testimony will be considered by the committee.

In order to allow as many people to testify as possible, there will be a two minute time limit per testifier. For those on Zoom, please keep yourself muted until it and your video off while waiting to testify and after your testimony is complete. The Zoom chat function will allow you to chat with technical staff only. Please use the chat function for technical issues. If you are disconnected unexpectedly, you may attempt to rejoin the meeting.

If disconnected while presenting testimony, you may be allowed to continue if time permits. Please note the house is not responsible for any bad Internet connections on the testifier's end. In the event of a network failure, it may be necessary to reschedule a hearing or schedule a meeting for decision making. In that case, an appropriate notice will be posted. Please avoid using any trademark or copyrighted images if you are using a Zoom background.

Please refrain refrain from any profanity or uncivil behavior. Such behavior may be grounds for removal from the hearing without the ability to rejoin. Finally, we have a new microphone system in the house conference rooms. Microphones are in the ceiling, so please be aware that any side conversations may be picked up.

Our first and only item on the agenda today for this joint hearing is HCR180 and HR170, urging the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to explore and pursue opportunities to co-locate community-based renewable energy generation projects with agricultural reservoirs and irrigation water infrastructure.

Excuse me. So first up to testify, we have Brian Miyamoto from Hawaii Farm Bureau in person.

Good morning, Chairs, Vice Chairs, Members of the Committees. Brian Miyamoto here on behalf of the Hawaii Farm Bureau. I believe we submitted testimony in support. For whatever reason, I don't have my testimony in front of me, but we are in support of this. So I, this was something that we witnessed or discussed last year of visit to Molokai, visiting the reservoir with some of the farmers, and they had talked about it.

I think we're with the Senator of colonel staff about this. I never heard about it. Right? About floating solar panels, which would they did discuss that it could possibly reduce evaporation by seeing here in the, the resolution also, reduce algae. So, again, creating power, reducing evaporation of water loss, and, hopefully, that power can be used to either reduce the cost of energy for the farmers or directly to the farmers.

And then again, another discussion that I think ADC was working on previously and others, hydroelectric pump storage. So again, we're very supportive. We're very appreciative of the legislature of these committees hearing this because as one of the, things that we talk about the Farm Bureau, we need to reduce the cost of production for our farmers and ranchers. We need to make sure that we achieve our renewable energy goals and our food security and food production goals, and we think this may speak to that.

This is innovative, kinda outside the box, I think, and we were very supportive of this.

And we'd love to see this even with the the recent corner holes and some of the concerns we have with some of our residents and dads. If they can serve as power generation, energy generation, not just for ag, but for other things, that'd be great. Again, we support renewable energy, support agriculture. This seems to combine both, and we're in strong support of this. So thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you. Next up, we have Janice, Jennifer Yoshimura from Molokai Clean Energy Hui on Zoom.

Hi. Aloha kākou, Chairs, Vice Chairs, and Members of the Committee on Agriculture and Food Systems, and Members of the Committee on Energy and Environment. My name is Jennifer Kamalumalei Yoshimura, and I'm the energy director for Sustainable Molokai and a member of the Molokai Clean Energy HUI.

The Molokai Clean Energy HUI or the HUI has received continued support from the State of Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, Hawaii State Energy Office, the local utility HECO, as well as state, county, and local elected officials and other industry leaders in supporting the Molokai Community Energy Resilience Action Plan or CERAP, which was led and developed by the Molokai community and published in June 2023. CERAP prioritizes Molokai's culture and values first in energy pathways and community decision-making toward achieving 100% renewable energy.

Floating photovoltaics or FPV on Kualapu'u Reservoir is one of 10 projects identified by the Molokai community in CERAP and can support 50% of the island energy needs. As Molokai faces some of the highest electricity costs in the state with over 50%, 50 cents per kilowatt hour pre-Iran War. We're looking to utilize $1,400,000 in federal funding from the Department of Energy, which expires this mid-September 2026, to advance feasibility studies, surveys, and engineering designs for floating PV on the reservoir.

Initial work completed in analysis shows evaporation savings, improved water quality, reduced land disturbance, and greater energy stability for Molokai residents. HCR 180 and HR 170 support floating photovoltaics and Molokai in achieving their renewable energy goals while supporting water, land, and food systems.

Mahalo for your time.

Thank you. Next up, we have Leilani Chow from Ho'āhu Clean Energy Cooperative Molokai and Molokai Clean Energy.

Yeah. Aloha pomehala and the committees on agricultural and food systems and energy and environmental protection. Mahalo nui for the opportunity to, share testimony in strong support of HR 170 and HCR 180. My name is Leilani Chow, and I've had the honor of serving my Molokai community in the areas of energy efficiency and community led energy planning for the past sixteen years.

The Molokai community has trusted me to respond to the document and advocate for their needs and preferences when it comes to clean our clean energy future.

And so I'm gonna share some community data, the following data and major decision points collected through a five year long planning process that Jen spoke about right before me. Alright. And the reason for wanting to share this data is just to share the exemplify the incredible dedication, time, and serious consideration that Molokai has put into the selection and exploration of floating solar this far.

To get to this point of strong community support for floating solar, it included 2,800 plus individual community conversations, thirteen ninety five surveys collected from east to west, 51 plus focus groups and workshop discussions, and over 40 community events attended. After five years of rigorous planning and thousands of community conversations, Molokai has remained consistent in our prioritization of FPV from 2021 up until 2026.

Our our main interest is that this is an energy solution that supports island agriculture, protects our water, and improve improves our overall sustainability and well-being. We have the technical validation, the community support, and 1,400,000.0 in federal funding to be deployed before it expires in September 2026. We humbly ask for your support on HR 170, HCR 180 to provide the Department of Ag and Biosecurity the encouragement and legislative backing needed to partner with the MultiClean Energy Hui in this exploration. Mahalo.

Thank you. Next, we have Kavai Punah Kalahipi, individual on in support on Zoom.

Sorry. Pulling up my testimony. Aloha, Nui, Chair, Vice Chair, and members of the Committee of Ag and Food Systems and the Committee of Energy and Environmental Protection. First, I want to just mahalo Rep Poepoe for introducing this resolution. It's because of her boots on the ground presence in our community that we're seeing real impactful legislation in the state.

So mahalo, Rep Poepoe, and mahalo you all for taking this kahia from the community. My name is Puna Kalipi, and I'm writing in strong support of HR 170 and HRC HCR 180, urging the Department of Ag and Biosecurity to explore and pursue opportunities to co-locate community-based renewable energy-generating projects with agriculture reservoirs and irrigation water infrastructure. As a resident of Molokai, I've participated in the community-led renewable energy planning that Leilani just shared about, and they've been fantastic.

You know, they it's not just a single process. They don't just ask once.

They ask. They double check. They keep checking, to make to ensure that every step of the way, the community is getting the information so that we're the decisions that we're making is informed. The Clean Energy Hui and Hoahu have done really, really fantastic job at getting the technical expertise into the community so that we can use the community expertise with the technical expertise to truly make groundbreaking pilot programs, not just for Molokai, but possibly for the entire state of Hawaii.

Our biggest barrier right now is the ability to move this project forward because of state processes.

So we are coming to you folks, to respectfully ask that you support this this project, and support the collaboration the department's collaboration with the Molokai Clean Energy Hui and the Molokai community as we continue to explore mutually beneficial ways to strengthen both Molokai's energy future and its agriculture system. Like I said before, this is not just an opportunity for Molokai but for the entire state of Hawaii.

If Molokai is successful in advancing this project it has the potential to transform how we think about the relationship between energy generation and water infrastructure. Maui County does this all the time, so I'm I'm also urging the state, please let Molokai be your pilot project. I think this is a fantastic project.

Our our community is is ready to learn more, to pivot as needed. And, yeah, it's a community supported project, and we are prepared to move forward thoughtfully and adapt as needed. Mahalo for your time and consideration, and mahalo to the community for your awesome work.

Thank you. Next, we have Audrey Newman, individual in support on Zoom.

Mahalo Chair, vice.

I think we lost your sound.

Mahalo nui to the both chairs, vice chairs, and the committees of both the members of both these committees for this opportunity to, share my strong support for this resolution. The earlier I stand on my testimony and the earlier, folks have outlined the amazing community process and, the opportunity for the state.

I've been involved in the executive group that provides support to the Molokai Clean Energy HUI since its beginning in 2020, and it's been truly inspiring to see this, you know, first of its kind, engagement of the entire community and making these kinds of decisions. At this point, the reason this resolution is so important to us is that we have over those five years, listened to the community's questions and secured technical assistance from the Federal Department of Energy, from consultants and others to address all those questions.

And every time it's come back and basically created stronger community support.

At this point, the next and final step of feasibility studies requires us to get access to the reservoir. And we just were so eager to work with the Department of Agriculture to make that happen. And as others have mentioned, we're on a very tight timeline because, we've secured a lot of money, 1,400,000.0 up to 1,400,000.0 for these studies, but it has to all be used by the September.

So I was really thrilled to see that that that chair Hurd submitted written testimony in support of this resolution. And we really look forward to working closely with the department on moving this forward.

And then the one other thing I just wanted to, you know, Kakou with, Puna is that when you when when I look at our project, our proposed project on Molokai, it's the perfect pilot for the state. It addresses all of the action items that are called for in the in the resolution. At the end, we'll have the information that we need so that we can altogether make a go no go decision about whether floating solar is feasible and cost effective for Molokai.

And all of that information will be helpful in any other floating solar projects that the, state or counties want to consider across Hawaii. So it's a great benefit to everybody.

And, the last thing I just Googled floating solar yesterday to see, you know, where we are in the country. Oops. And, floating solar is widespread in China, but The US is just really getting started on it. And so this is a chance for Hawaii to once again, take leadership on an important technology that will make us all, sustainable and more energy independent. So thank you so much for your consideration and and really hope that you will pass this resolution.

Aloha.

Thank you. Next, we have, Lori Buchanan, individual in support on Zoom.

Hey. Aloha, honorable committee members. Hey. I wanna take most of my two minutes. Sorry, Lori Buchanan, community advocate.

And as I can see, we're working today. We are on lunch break. So I wanted to thank mostly, the honorable committee for, hearing this resolution today. And, of course, our representative who attended one of the many workshops, on our community in Molokai and realized that this was something that, she could help in supporting. I wanted to thank too, Brian Miyamoto that's there with the Farm Bureau.

I I listened to the Farm Bureau testify all day, and I really appreciate that they have an open mind. I also wanted to thank chair Hurd and the Hawaii Humanovag and Biosecurity for also being open minded about seeing how this could possibly work. And that's exactly what the resolution says is just to do to look at this and see if we're able to do it.

The other thing I wanted to thank was all the people who work really hard to try and get money to the island of Molokai. It's so difficult to get any, federal, state, and county funding to do these types of projects and feasibility reports.

And so just the fact that, the Molokai Clean Energy Huiwa, which I also wanna thank along with Sustainable Molokai, that they did the hard work in order to try and encumber these funds. So it takes you guys all know that it takes so much to actually make things like this come to fruition. So Aye, of course, I I stand in support of the resolution and mostly thanking everybody along that the way that can support Molokai. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much.

Thank you. We don't have any further testifiers listed. Is there anybody who would like to testify who has not yet? One on. Oh, one on Zoom? Okay.

Yeah. Hi. I'm trying to get my video on. There we go. Okay. Aloha, chair, vice chair, and members of the committee. Thank you for hearing our testimony today.

My name is Nicole Schroeder Sims, and I live on the Island Of Molokai and work on the Island Of Molokai. I'm testifying in support of HR 170. As the Molokai CRAP Admin Assistant, I've seen and heard from the Molokai community regarding what they feel is important when planning for renewable energy projects. Leilani highlighted some of the stats from our community outreach efforts earlier.

And floating solar has stood out as a design of interest and continues to be among the highest priority projects the community would like to explore as a renewable energy solution.

This exploration would be at no cost to the Department of Ag and Biosecurity and would result in mutually beneficial information gained from surveys and reports using our existing funding. I agree with the Molokai community that this is a beneficial thing to continue and we would like to explore floating solar as a potential renewable energy solution for Molokai. I urge the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to engage with the Molokai Clean Energy HUI and the Molokai community to collaborate on exploration.

Mahalo for your consideration and to, all of those who have submitted testimony.

Thank you. Is there anybody else on Zoom who would like to testify? Seeing none, members, questions, testifiers? Seeing none, we're gonna move right into decision making. HCR 180, HR 170.

It's gonna be moved forward as is. Members, any questions, comments, concerns? Seeing none, chair for the vote.

[Roll Call]

Aye. Chair your recommendation is adopted. Thank you chair. Members. Oh, we can do that. I forgot to join.

Members of the EP, my recommendation is the same. Are there any questions? New questions, new concerns? None.

[Roll Call]

Thank you, chair. I apologize on that jumping. There's no further agenda. This joint hearing is adjourned.