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House committee advances bill to study agricultural workforce housing, adds mayors to working group
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Summary
The House Housing Committee moved SB2405 SD1 HD1 forward March 25 with amendments to add county mayors to a proposed agricultural workforce housing working group and to require the group to survey farm operators about labor demand. The measure won committee approval after supporters and agencies urged clearer statutory direction.
The House Housing Committee on Wednesday advanced SB2405 SD1 HD1, a bill creating a working group to study agricultural workforce housing and related policy changes, saying the panel would add county mayors to the group and task it early with surveying farm operators to measure realistic demand.
The measure, discussed in Conference Room 430, drew written support from a broad set of stakeholders including the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, HHFDC, the Agribusiness Development Corporation, County of Hawaii Department of Research & Development, Housing Hawaii's Future, Hawaii Food Policy, Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, Hawaii Farm Bureau and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA). An OHA representative told the committee that “OHA has long advocated for policies that expand opportunities for Native Hawaiian farmers, ranchers, and food producers,” and asked to be explicitly included in the working group.
Why it matters: Committee members said the working group could guide state policy on zoning, leases and procurement to incentivize farmworker housing, but several lawmakers insisted the statute be clear about early tasks so the group produces actionable results rather than additional studies.
During questioning, the Chair asked Department of Agriculture officials whether the bill should explicitly require the working group to gather data and survey farm operators. Department staff said they had heard the request before but were unsure and agreed that it may be necessary to include that requirement in statute; the Chair said he would clarify that an early task of the working group is data collection and a farm-operator survey.
The committee adopted several technical and substantive amendments, including a Maui Chamber of Commerce proposal to add consideration of zoning and innovative housing models such as modular and tiny homes. After recorded statements from members, the committee voted to move the bill to the next floor committee with the adopted amendments.
The committee chair noted there were no indications the bill would alter existing contracts executed before enactment and said the working group’s early data task will help tailor recommendations to on-the-ground demand. The committee’s action sends the bill to the next legislative stage with clarifying language on membership and early duties.
