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Senate committees pass SB 2006 with amendments to clarify farm employee housing, limit visitor accommodations
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Summary
On Feb. 12 a Senate AEN committee and the Committee on Housing advanced SB 2006 with amendments clarifying that farm employee housing is reserved for agricultural workers and cannot be used for visitor accommodations while allowing incidental ag-tourism on the same parcel; committees recorded supporters and opponents on the public record.
A Senate committee advanced SB 2006 on Feb. 12, approving amendments that clarify what counts as farm employee housing and restrict its use for visitor accommodations while preserving limited ag-tourism on the same property.
The chair opened the AEN/Housing hearing in Room 225 and, after taking testimony on the single-item agenda, recommended the committee pass the bill "with OPSD suggested amendments," stating the changes would clarify definitions of "farmer," "employee housing," and "bona fide agricultural services." The chair said the amendment would make clear that "farm employee housing is intended solely for ag workers and may not be used for visitor accommodations, [and] ag-tourism activities may occur on the same parcel as a farm dwelling when such activities are secondary and incidental to a bona fide ag operation, and that they do not occur within farm employee housing units and comply with county ordinances adopted pursuant to HRS section 205-5."
Supporters and organizations filed testimony and were recorded on the public record. The chair listed individuals and groups who stood in support, including representatives noted as Curtis Lund (DPP), Brian Miyamoto (Hawaii Farm Bureau), Lindsay Garcia, Ted Kefalas (Grassroot Institute of Hawaii), and Hawaii Farmers Union (Hunter Hevelin), among others. The chair summarized the public record as "9 in support, 2 opposed, 4 with comments." The Department of Agriculture (biosecurity) also stood to offer comments and to answer questions.
Opposing testimony had raised a concern that the bill, as originally drafted, "could restrict ag-tourism activities that provide important supplemental income for bona fide farming operations." The chair addressed that concern in the amendment language by preserving incidental ag-tourism so long as it is secondary to farming, is not conducted inside employee housing units, and conforms with county land-use ordinances as noted above.
The AEN committee voted to adopt the chair's recommendation. The chair and vice chair voted aye; Senator DeCoite was excused; Senators Rhoads and Owa voted aye, producing four affirmative votes and adoption of the motion. The Committee on Housing recorded the same recommendation: the chair voted aye, Senators Elefante and Rhodes voted aye, and Senator Fevella was excused; the committee adopted the recommendation.
The hearing record shows the bill advanced out of committee with the stated amendments. The session included standard hearing procedures (a 90-minute time limit for the meeting and a two-minute limit for testifiers). No floor date or additional next-step timeline was specified during the hearing.
