Bill > SB448

This bill addresses agricultural land conservation in Hawaii by appropriating funds to the Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC) to acquire a conservation easement on agricultural lands in Central Oahu. The legislation is grounded in Hawaii's constitutional mandates to conserve natural resources and protect agricultural lands, and it supports state goals of increasing local food production, such as requiring 30% of public school food to be locally sourced by 2030 and 50% of state department produce purchases to be local by 2050. A conservation easement is a legal agreement that permanently limits land use to protect its conservation value, in this case preserving agricultural potential. The bill allocates an unspecified amount of general state revenue for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 to enable the ADC to purchase this easement, which will help ensure that agricultural lands remain available for future food production. The act is set to take effect on July 1, 3000 (which appears to be a typographical error and likely means July 1, 2030).

Agriculture and Natural Resources, Budget and Finance, Business and Industry

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=448&year=2026