Senate quad committee defers statewide agritourism bill after hours of testimony

After more than an hour of testimony and extended questioning on March 19, 2025 in Room 229, the Senate Committee on Water and Land and the Committee on Agriculture and Environment announced they would defer House Bill 966, House Draft 2, indefinitely and convene a working group to rewrite the measure.

The bill would have established statewide, uniform standards for agricultural tourism, required counties to register agritourism activities with planning departments, required agritourism to coexist with an agricultural activity on the same farming operation, and called for termination of agritourism activities upon cessation of the underlying agricultural activity except in limited circumstances.

Proponents told the committee agritourism can help farms remain solvent while supporting conservation and educational programs. Taylor Kellerman, director of diversified agriculture and land stewardship for Kulo Ranch, said agritourism funds food production and conservation work at his operation: “In 2024, we produced over 150,000 pounds of local food, actively stewarding 1,500 acres,” he said, adding agritourism supports school education programs and paid internships. Kellerman urged measured standards to prevent bad actors while preserving legitimate farm diversification.

Farm groups urged caution on statewide mandates. Brian Miyamoto of the Hawaii Farm Bureau told senators he supports the bill’s intent but wants guardrails and prefers many details remain at the county (home-rule) level so as not to overburden farmers. Nicole Galassi of the Hawaii Cattlemen’s Council similarly urged protection for bona fide farms used for education and diversified income.

Several senators and witnesses questioned how to define and measure the line between production and tourism. A DOA representative explained the agency treats AgPark lands as production-only and said activity on non-AgPark (AG 90) parcels may permit ancillary activities so long as there is a direct tie to the farm (for example, ingredients used in a farm-made smoothie must be grown on-site). The department acknowledged it lacks staff to perform business audits and would generally rely on farmer-provided income breakdowns, complicating enforcement of strict percentage tests.

Outside examples and metric proposals surfaced in testimony. Gil Rivier cited Italy’s practice of requiring minimum agriculture-derived revenue (a 50% threshold in some areas, with reductions to 25% in economically challenged regions) as an objective standard that could guard against nonagricultural commercialization. Rivier also warned the bill’s termination-exemption language could, as written, allow operators to cease farming permanently after an allowed exemption for events like hurricanes.

Lawmakers repeatedly returned to enforcement and infrastructure: committee members asked whether farms invited to host visitors would be required to install restrooms, provide parking and reliable water supplies, and whether counties were prepared to enforce new rules. DOA said it performs site visits and requests documentation when activities appear outside permitted scopes, but county enforcement remains a concern.

Given those definitional and enforcement gaps, the chairs concluded more work was needed. Chair Gabbard announced the indefinite deferment and called for a collaborative working group including House and Senate members, DOA, DLNR and industry representatives to produce a roadmap and workable language. Committee members signaled they expect the working group to return recommendations next year and invited Taylor Kellerman and other industry representatives to participate.

The hearing record shows broad agreement that agritourism can support agriculture when carefully regulated, but lawmakers said the bill as written lacked adequate mechanisms for measurement, oversight and protection of production lands. The committee recessed and later adjourned after adopting the deferment and issuing invitations for further stakeholder work.