RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.

Agriculture Budget

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: KAHALOA, AMATO, BELATTI, EVSLIN, HOLT, HUSSEY, LAMOSAO, LOWEN, MORIKAWA, PERRUSO, POEPOE
Last action: 2026-04-02
Official status: Received notice of the discharge of all House Conferees (Hse. Com. No. 457).
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date of July 1, 2050, appears to be an error and should likely be corrected.

Agriculture Grants Help

This bill provides funding to hire grant specialists who will assist farmers and ranchers in Hawaii with applying for and managing grants from various sources.

What This Bill Does

Appropriates funds to establish two full-time equivalent (FTE) grant specialist positions within the Department of Agriculture.
These grant specialists help farmers and ranchers apply for and manage grants offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, state, counties, or private entities.

Who It Names or Affects

Farmers and ranchers in Hawaii
Department of Agriculture

Terms To Know

Grant Specialist: A person who helps others apply for and manage grants, especially those related to agriculture.
FTE (Full-Time Equivalent): A way of measuring the workload of a job in terms of full-time work hours.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify how much money is being allocated for these positions.
It will take effect on July 1, 2050, which seems to be an error as the bill was introduced in 2025 and typically such acts would become effective soon after passage.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: This amendment allocates funds to create grant specialist positions within the Department of Agriculture to help farmers and ranchers apply for and manage grants.

Appropriates money from state general revenues to hire full-time equivalent (FTE) grant specialists in the Department of Agriculture.
These specialists will assist farmers and ranchers with applying for, obtaining, and fulfilling requirements of various grants.
The amendment prioritizes assistance for local food producers who sell at least part of their products within Hawaii.

The exact amount of funds appropriated is not specified in the provided text.
The effective date mentioned (July 1, 3000) seems incorrect and likely contains an error.

SD1

Hawaii published version SD1

Plain English: This amendment appropriates funds to create grant specialist positions within the Department of Agriculture to help farmers and ranchers apply for and manage grants.

Appropriates money from state general revenues to hire full-time equivalent (FTE) grant specialists in the Department of Agriculture.
These specialists will assist farmers and ranchers with applying for, obtaining, and fulfilling requirements of various grants.
The amendment prioritizes assistance for local food producers who sell at least part of their products within Hawaii.

The exact amount of funding appropriated is not specified in the provided text.
The effective date mentioned (July 1, 3000) seems incorrect and likely contains an error.

Bill History

2026-04-02 S
Received notice of the discharge of all House Conferees (Hse. Com. No. 457).
2026-04-01 H
House Conferee(s) discharged.
2026-03-20 H
Received notice of all Senate conferees being discharged (Sen. Com. No. 409).
2026-03-20 S
Senate Conferee(s) discharged.
2025-12-08 D
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
2025-04-21 H
Conference Committee Meeting will reconvene on Tuesday 04-22-25 9:31AM in conference room 325.
2025-04-17 H
Bill scheduled for Conference Committee Meeting on Monday, 04-21-25 10:30AM in conference room 325.
2025-04-15 H
Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 788).
2025-04-15 S
Senate Conferees Appointed: Gabbard Chair; DeCoite Co-Chair; Richards, Awa.
2025-04-15 S
Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 732).
2025-04-14 H
House Conferees Appointed: Kahaloa, Kusch Co-Chairs; Perruso, Todd, Matsumoto.
2025-04-11 S
Received notice of disagreement (Hse. Com. No. 704).
2025-04-10 H
House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).
2025-04-08 H
Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 673) in amended form (SD 1).
2025-04-08 S
Report adopted; Passed Third Reading. Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: none . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.
2025-04-04 S
One Day Notice 04-08-25.
2025-04-04 S
Reported from WAM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1684) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading.
2025-04-02 S
The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in WAM were as follows: 13 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, Aquino, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.
2025-03-27 S
The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 04-02-25 10:01AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.
2025-03-18 S
Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM.
2025-03-18 S
Reported from AEN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1129) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.
2025-03-10 S
The committee(s) on AEN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in AEN were as follows: 4 Aye(s): Senator(s) Gabbard, Richards, DeCoite, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Rhoads.
2025-03-06 S
The committee(s) on AEN has scheduled a public hearing on 03-10-25 1:01PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference.
2025-03-04 S
Referred to AEN, WAM.
2025-02-28 S
Passed First Reading.
2025-02-28 S
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 36).
2025-02-27 H
Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Pierick, Templo, Ward excused (4). Transmitted to Senate.
2025-02-27 H
Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 872), recommending passage on Third Reading.
2025-02-20 H
The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 14 Ayes: Representative(s) Yamashita, Takenouchi, Grandinetti, Holt, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lamosao, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Templo, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Alcos, Ward.
2025-02-18 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Thursday, 02-20-25 2:00PM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-02-11 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Ward excused (2).
2025-02-11 H
Reported from AGR (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 397) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.
2025-02-07 H
The committee on AGR recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) Kahaloa, Kusch, Lowen, Perruso, Quinlan; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Ward.
2025-02-05 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by AGR on Friday, 02-07-25 9:30AM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-01-21 H
Referred to AGR, FIN, referral sheet 2
2025-01-21 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2025-01-17 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.
Department of Agriculture; Grant Specialist; Positions; Appropriation ($)
Appropriates funds to establish grant specialist positions to assist farmers and ranchers in meeting the requirements to receive grants offered by the United States Department of Agriculture, State, counties, or private entities. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB773

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

773

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to agriculture
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

����
SECTION
1.
�
The legislature finds that many of
Hawaii's farmers and ranchers are finding difficulty in securing the financial
support necessary to build a thriving, vibrant business.
�
Various sources of funding, including grants
provided by the United States Department of Agriculture and the State,
counties, and private entities, are available for farmers and ranchers.
�
Access to grants from the United States
Department of Agriculture and other sources can increase production capacity,
provide new business opportunities, and increase employment opportunities
within the State's agricultural industry.

����
The
legislature further finds that farmers and ranchers applying for grants may
have to complete an application process that is sometimes complex.
�
Without specific technical expertise in grant
writing, many farmers and ranchers may be deterred from applying for those
grants.
�
Well-trained and skilled grant
specialists would be able to assist farmers and ranchers in obtaining and
fulfilling the requirements of grants.

����
The
purpose of this Act is to appropriate funds for grant specialist positions
within the department of agriculture to assist farmers and ranchers in applying
for, obtaining, and fulfilling the requirements of grants offered by the United
States Department of Agriculture, State, counties, or private entities.

����
SECTION
2.
�
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 2025-2026 for the establishment of
two full-time equivalent (2.0 FTE) grant specialist positions within the
department of agriculture to assist farmers and ranchers in applying for,
obtaining, and fulfilling the requirements of grants offered by the United States
Department of Agriculture, State, counties, or private entities; provided that
the grant specialist positions shall prioritize assisting farmers and ranchers
who produce local food that is at least partly consumed within the State.

����
The sum
appropriated shall be expended by the department of agriculture for the
purposes of this Act.

����
SECTION 3.
�
This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Department
of Agriculture; Grant Specialist; Appropriation

Description:

Appropriates
funds for grant specialist positions to assist farmers and ranchers in meeting
the requirements to receive grants
offered by the United States
Department of Agriculture, State, counties, or private entities
.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.