Senate AEN committee advances farm-to-food, loan, data and pesticide-reporting bills; tax-exemption repeal deferred

HONOLULU — The Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment on March 10 advanced a package of bills aimed at shoring up Hawaii’s local food supply, agricultural finance and oversight while deferring action on a rarely used tax exemption.

The panel passed measures to create a “farm to families” purchasing and distribution program, fund grant specialist positions to help farmers win federal dollars, modernize agricultural statistics and loan programs, establish a three-year climate-resilient food-systems grant pilot, and build an online restricted-use pesticide (RUP) reporting tool. Committee leaders recommended amendments setting implementation review dates of July 1, 2050, and flagged several appropriation requests for the Legislature’s consideration.

Why it matters: Testimony at the hearing described rising demand for charitable food assistance, uncertainty from reduced federal grant programs and the practical barriers farmers face to participating in state and federal funding opportunities. Proponents told the committee that state support could replace or supplement rescinded federal funds and help keep local produce and protein available to food banks and schools.

Department of Agriculture testimony and advocates framed several bills as timely responses to shrinking federal support. Sharon Hurd of the Department of Agriculture said the department “stands on our written testimony” and highlighted that a federal grant application for $1,100,000 focused on kalo production had been rescinded; she urged the committee to continue appropriations tied to the bills. Amy Miller, executive director of Hawaii Food Bank, told the committee, “We are serving almost twice as many people as we did prior to the pandemic and hitting numbers similar to what we saw during the height of the pandemic.”

Supporters said fresh produce and protein are the highest unmet needs. Miller said the food bank serves about 71,000 people per month through roughly 225 partner agencies and that demand rose…