Agriculture and Public Trust Committee
Office of the County Clerk
200 S. High Street
Kalana O Maui Bldg, 7th Fl.
Wailuku, HI 96793
Re: Testimony for Bill 105 (with removal of duplicative efforts)
Aloha Chair Sinenci and Committee members,
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on the proposed Bill 105 to establish policies related to the Department of Agriculture.
While the University of Hawaii CTAHR Maui supports the intent of this bill, we are concerned that there are some tasks included in the language of the bill that are duplicative of services already being provided by other organizations in the community. Specific to the University of Hawaii CTAHR’ mission, it is already our charge to “develop” and “provide” education, programs, and training to farmers, ranchers, consumers and the community at large; so we suggest the following potential revisions in the bill language, that may be perceived as being duplicative or overlapping with work already being addressed by UH CTAHR in these areas:
1. Item E #1, remove the words “developing and”
2. Item E #2, change to: “Support organizations” providing educational resources and training…
3. Item I #2, change to: “Support organizations” providing education…
Given that there are limited resources available for the Department of Agriculture, UH CTAHR respectfully suggests that the current broad scope of the bill might benefit from a greater focus on providing a strong framework to help commercial farmers and ranchers by assessing and then working on their currently stated needs and concerns. In addition, minimizing the data collection, recordkeeping, reporting and rulemaking at this early stage of the department’s development, to only those items most critical to farmers and ranchers, would be most helpful at this time.
Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to comment and for your consideration of our comments.
Sincerely,
Cynthia Reeves, PhD, MPH
University of Hawaii, CTAHR Maui
Maui County Administration
Agriculture and Public Trust Committee
Office of the County Clerk
200 S. High Street
Kalana O Maui Bldg, 7th Fl.
Wailuku, HI 96793
Re: Testimony for Bill 105 (with removal of duplicative efforts)
Aloha Chair Sinenci and Committee members,
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on the proposed Bill 105 to establish policies related to the Department of Agriculture.
While the University of Hawaii CTAHR Maui supports the intent of this bill, we are concerned that there are some tasks included in the language of the bill that are duplicative of services already being provided by other organizations in the community. Specific to the University of Hawaii CTAHR’ mission, it is already our charge to “develop” and “provide” education, programs, and training to farmers, ranchers, consumers and the community at large; so we suggest the following potential revisions in the bill language, that may be perceived as being duplicative or overlapping with work already being addressed by UH CTAHR in these areas:
1. Item E #1, remove the words “developing and”
2. Item E #2, change to: “Support organizations” providing educational resources and training…
3. Item I #2, change to: “Support organizations” providing education…
Given that there are limited resources available for the Department of Agriculture, UH CTAHR respectfully suggests that the current broad scope of the bill might benefit from a greater focus on providing a strong framework to help commercial farmers and ranchers by assessing and then working on their currently stated needs and concerns. In addition, minimizing the data collection, recordkeeping, reporting and rulemaking at this early stage of the department’s development, to only those items most critical to farmers and ranchers, would be most helpful at this time.
Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to comment and for your consideration of our comments.
Sincerely,
Cynthia Reeves, PhD, MPH
University of Hawaii, CTAHR Maui
Maui County Administration