SECTION 1. Hawaii imports 85 per cent of its food. In 2011, the department of agriculture pointed out that the State is most at risk for staple starches. Taro is the most culturally significant food plant in Hawaii and also one of Hawaii's highest yielding staple starch food crops, producing between 10,000 and 30,000 pounds per acre per annum under current wetland cultivation practices. Hence, taro plays a critical role in food security for the State.

The State produces approximately four million pounds of raw taro on an estimated five hundred to six hundred acres (three hundred eighty acres in commercial lo‘i) statewide and imports an additional two million pounds or more annually. Collectively this does not meet local demand which is diversifying as value-added producers and consumers become more educated about kalo, poi and pa‘i‘ai. This demand is expected to grow as we move towards greater local food self-sufficiency. Growing local also significantly reduces the threat of new taro pest and disease introductions from raw taro imports, a critical and necessary step for improving biosecurity control measures and reducing the high costs associated with control efforts.

Access to affordable taro lands remains a major challenge for young taro growers striving for success, greater family food self-sufficiency, and community well-being. In 2009, the taro task force, established under Act 211, Session Laws of Hawaii 2008, found "no logical reason why we should continue to import any type of taro to meet local needs" and provided a series of recommendations for improving taro and taro farmer success. In its 2010 and 2014 reports to the legislature, the task force recommended greater protections for wetland taro lands (lo‘i), including their structural elements, such as terraces, kuauna or paepae pohaku (stone walls), and ‘auwai (irrigation ditches) within the boundaries of the State's public conservation districts to help meet food security needs and to support community and cultural resilience in the face of the rising costs of imported food for local families. The taro task force also found that these key agricultural structures for wetland taro production are frequently destroyed, severed, and built upon due to gaps in land use designations, historic preservation records, planning, laws, and agency policies, making the need for improved taro land protections more urgent.

Over the last five years, the taro security and purity task force has documented a strong and growing desire among Hawaii's younger generation of farmers, potential farmers, and community groups, to plant kalo and return to the lo‘i on each island to grow food, care for their families, create places of education and renewal, and perpetuate Hawaiian culture.

As global warming and sea-level rise progresses in the Pacific and Hawaii, existing lowland agricultural sites, particularly lo‘i kalo, will disappear or become inundated with brackish water, raising the question of where we will grow our food in the future. At this time, since the State has no measures in place to protect the necessary upland taro-growing places, we will need to mitigate these changes.

Historic, long-fallowed lo‘i kalo lands can be found on public conservation lands within most ahupua‘a on each island and point to an opportunity for greater food productivity and a chance to address the looming issue of food security in the face of sea-level rise.

The taro task force estimates between five thousand and seven thousand acres of historic lo‘i lands may be found within state conservation districts based on maps developed by the office of Hawaiian affairs and department of land and natural resources during the 2014 legislative session, or less than 3 per cent of all department of land and natural resources lands.

There is a compelling interest in preserving wetland taro lands and their supporting structures on public conservation lands under the jurisdiction of the department of land and natural resources for these purposes.

Chapter 171, Hawaii Revised Statutes, entitled public lands management and disposal of, outlines the laws for land use specifically and only for public lands. Section 171-10, Hawaii Revised Statutes, describes the allowable land uses on public lands. The taro security and purity task force finds that wetland taro lands are highly productive but often classed as marginal under the existing categories of section 171-10, Hawaii Revised Statutes, intensive agriculture use.

The purpose of this Act is to improve protections for wetland taro lands (lo‘i kalo) and ancient wetland agricultural structures on undeveloped state-owned or -acquired conservation lands for Hawaii's long-term future food security and well-being.

SECTION 2. Section 171-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:

""Taro lands" means any lands in wetland taro cultivation prior to statehood, or any traditional taro lands that retain historic structural evidence of lo‘i kalo, such as ‘auwai irrigation ditches, terraces, or walls."

SECTION 3. Section 171-10, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§171-10 Classes of lands. The board of land and natural resources shall classify all public lands and in doing so be guided by the following classifications:

1. Intensive agricultural use

(A) First class--Lands highly productive of intensive crops such as sugarcane, pineapples, truck crops, and orchard crops.

(B) Second class--Lands having medium productivity for intensive crops.

(D) Fourth class--Taro lands of no particular productivity determination but having cultural, social, economic, and food self-sufficiency value if preserved for wetland taro cultivation. District boundary amendment of fourth class-taro lands shall be prohibited. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, public land classified as fourth class-taro lands pursuant to this section shall not be subject to district boundary amendment.

2. Special livestock use

(A) First class--Lands highly suitable for special livestock uses such as swine, dairy, and poultry production. In making the determination, consideration shall be given to drainage, climate, topography, proximity to market, and transportation and compatibility to adjoining land use, among other considerations. "Dairy" as used for disposition purposes means a "dry lot" dairy without allowance for grazing.

(B) Second class--Lands suitable for special livestock uses, but inferior to those of first class.

3. Pasture use

(A) First class--Lands having a potentially high economic animal unit carrying capacity and capable of correspondingly high liveweight gains per acre per year, such as, less than five acres per animal unit per year and more than one hundred pounds live beef gains per animal unit per acre per year.

(B) Second class--Lands having a potentially medium economic animal unit carrying capacity and capable of moderate liveweight gains per acre per year, such as, five to twenty acres per animal unit per year and twenty to one hundred pounds live beef gains per animal unit per acre per year.

(C) Third class--Lands having a relatively low animal unit carrying capacity and producing correspondingly low liveweight gains per acre per year, such as, more than twenty acres per animal unit per year and less than twenty pounds average live beef gains per animal unit per acre per year.

4. Commercial timber use

(A) First class--Lands of high suitability for growth of merchantable timber having mean annual growth potential under normal forest management practices with yields exceeding amounts such as one thousand board feet per acre, and with location and terrain presenting favorable logging, transportation, and marketing conditions.

(B) Second class--Lands of high suitability for growth of merchantable timber having mean annual growth potential under normal forest management practices with yields exceeding amounts such as one thousand board feet per acre, and with location and terrain presenting less favorable logging, transportation, and marketing conditions.

(C) Third class--Lands of medium suitability for growth of merchantable timber having mean annual growth potential in amounts such as five hundred to one thousand board feet per acre under normal forest management practices, and with location and terrain presenting favorable logging, transportation, and marketing conditions.

(D) Fourth class--Lands of medium suitability for growth of merchantable timber having mean annual growth potential in amounts such as five hundred to one thousand board feet per acre under normal forest management practices, and with location and terrain presenting less favorable logging, transportation, and marketing conditions.

(E) Fifth class--Lands of relatively low suitability for growth of merchantable timber having mean annual growth potential less than an amount such as five hundred board feet per acre, and with location and terrain presenting favorable logging, transportation, and marketing conditions.

(F) Sixth class--Lands of relatively low suitability for growth of merchantable timber having mean annual growth potential less than an amount such as five hundred board feet per acre, and with location and terrain presenting less favorable logging, transportation, and marketing conditions.

5. Quarry use

Lands having sufficient quantity and quality of rock, gravel, and sand for purpose of commercial use.

6. Mining use

Lands bearing sufficient quantity and quality of mineral products for purpose of commercial mining and use.

7. Recreational use

Lands suitable for use and development as parks, playgrounds, historical sites, natural area, camp grounds, wildlife refuge, scenic sites, and other such uses.

8. Watershed use

Lands suitable for the use and development as watersheds or for the development of water, and requiring necessary restrictions on other uses.

9. Residential use

Lands suitable and economically feasible for residential development and use.

10. Commercial and industrial use

Lands suitable and economically feasible for commercial and industrial development and use.

11. Hotel, apartment, and motel use

Lands suitable and economically feasible for hotel, apartment, and motel development and use.

12. Resort use

Lands suitable and economically feasible for resort development and use.

13. Unclassified uses

Lands not otherwise classifiable under the foregoing sections."

SECTION 4. The board of land and natural resources, in conjunction with the taro security and purity task force, may create an inventory under chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, identifying lands classified as fourth class taro lands.

SECTION 5. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2015-2016 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2016-2017 for the purposes of section 4 of this Act.

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the board of land and natural resources for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 6. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 7. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 8. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2015.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	509
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII