Hawaii 2025 Regular Session

Hawaii Senate Bill SR118 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	THE SENATE S.R. NO. 118 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025 STATE OF HAWAII SENATE RESOLUTION requesting the Department of Land and Natural Resources to transfer active agricultural land leases under the jurisdiction of the Department of Land and Natural Resources to THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TO support agriculture in the State.
2	2
3	3	THE SENATE S.R. NO. 118
4	4	THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
5	5	STATE OF HAWAII
6	6
7	7	THE SENATE
8	8
9	9	S.R. NO.
10	10
11	11	118
12	12
13	13	THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
14	14
15	15
16	16
17	17	STATE OF HAWAII
18	18
19	19
20	20
21	21
22	22
23	23
24	24
25	25
26	26
27	27
28	28
29	29	SENATE RESOLUTION
30	30
31	31
32	32
33	33
34	34
35	35	requesting the Department of Land and Natural Resources to transfer active agricultural land leases under the jurisdiction of the Department of Land and Natural Resources to THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TO support agriculture in the State.
36	36
37	37
38	38
39	39
40	40
41	41	WHEREAS, Act 90, Session Laws of Hawaii 2003, was passed to ensure the long-term productive use of public lands leased or available to be leased by the Department of Land and Natural Resources, for agricultural purposes by authorizing the Department of Agriculture to accept the transfer and management of these lands upon mutual agreement and approval between the Board of Agriculture and the Board of Land and Natural Resources; and WHEREAS, lands for agricultural purposes remain under the jurisdiction of the Department of Land and Natural Resources that have not yet been transferred to the Department of Agriculture; and WHEREAS, the Department of Land and Natural Resources does not plan to renew these leases for agricultural purposes at the end of their lease terms; and WHEREAS, beef cattle production is a significant agricultural industry in the State that contributes over $48 million to the State's economy each year; and WHEREAS, the State's communities benefit from the ecosystem services that rangelands provide, including the stabilization of soils, enhancement of watershed capacity, sequestration of carbon, cycling of nutrients, and suppression of noxious weeds; and WHEREAS, the ranchers managing these rangelands are essentially grass farmers who utilize cattle to manage the ground cover to minimize bare soil and erosion, maximize water infiltration, improve soil health, and minimize the spread of noxious weeds while generating operating income that subsidizes their continued resource management; and WHEREAS, without beef cattle ranchers and the land stewardship they provide, these lands would be left unmanaged, becoming inundated with noxious weeds and an increased fire fuel load; and WHEREAS, the cattle industry contributes to the State's economy through job creation, business and property taxes, purchase of goods and services, and the sale of animals and meat products which in turn improve the State's food security; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to transfer active agricultural land leases under the jurisdiction of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, specifically the parcels identified as Tax Map Keys: (3) 4-1-6: 7; (3) 2-6-18: 1; (3) 4-3-1: 2; and (2) 1-8-1: 3 to the Department of Agriculture to support agriculture in the State; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to: (1) Identify agricultural lands under its jurisdiction available for lease; and (2) Transfer the identified agricultural lands to the Department of Agriculture; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources and Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture. OFFERED BY: _____________________________ Report Title: DLNR; DOA; Agricultural Lands; Public Lands; Leases
42	42
43	43	WHEREAS, Act 90, Session Laws of Hawaii 2003, was passed to ensure the long-term productive use of public lands leased or available to be leased by the Department of Land and Natural Resources, for agricultural purposes by authorizing the Department of Agriculture to accept the transfer and management of these lands upon mutual agreement and approval between the Board of Agriculture and the Board of Land and Natural Resources; and
44	44
45	45
46	46
47	47	WHEREAS, lands for agricultural purposes remain under the jurisdiction of the Department of Land and Natural Resources that have not yet been transferred to the Department of Agriculture; and
48	48
49	49
50	50
51	51	WHEREAS, the Department of Land and Natural Resources does not plan to renew these leases for agricultural purposes at the end of their lease terms; and
52	52
53	53
54	54
55	55	WHEREAS, beef cattle production is a significant agricultural industry in the State that contributes over $48 million to the State's economy each year; and
56	56
57	57
58	58
59	59	WHEREAS, the State's communities benefit from the ecosystem services that rangelands provide, including the stabilization of soils, enhancement of watershed capacity, sequestration of carbon, cycling of nutrients, and suppression of noxious weeds; and
60	60
61	61
62	62
63	63	WHEREAS, the ranchers managing these rangelands are essentially grass farmers who utilize cattle to manage the ground cover to minimize bare soil and erosion, maximize water infiltration, improve soil health, and minimize the spread of noxious weeds while generating operating income that subsidizes their continued resource management; and
64	64
65	65
66	66
67	67	WHEREAS, without beef cattle ranchers and the land stewardship they provide, these lands would be left unmanaged, becoming inundated with noxious weeds and an increased fire fuel load; and
68	68
69	69
70	70
71	71	WHEREAS, the cattle industry contributes to the State's economy through job creation, business and property taxes, purchase of goods and services, and the sale of animals and meat products which in turn improve the State's food security; now, therefore,
72	72
73	73
74	74
75	75	BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to transfer active agricultural land leases under the jurisdiction of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, specifically the parcels identified as Tax Map Keys: (3) 4-1-6: 7; (3) 2-6-18: 1; (3) 4-3-1: 2; and (2) 1-8-1: 3 to the Department of Agriculture to support agriculture in the State; and
76	76
77	77
78	78
79	79	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to:
80	80
81	81
82	82
83	83	(1) Identify agricultural lands under its jurisdiction available for lease; and
84	84
85	85
86	86
87	87	(2) Transfer the identified agricultural lands to the Department of Agriculture; and
88	88
89	89
90	90
91	91	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources and Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture.
92	92
93	93
94	94
95	95
96	96
97	97
98	98
99	99	OFFERED BY: _____________________________
100	100
101	101
102	102
103	103	OFFERED BY:
104	104
105	105	_____________________________
106	106
107	107
108	108
109	109
110	110
111	111	Report Title:
112	112
113	113	DLNR; DOA; Agricultural Lands; Public Lands; Leases