Bill Text: HI SB969 | 2016 | Regular Session | Amended

Hawaii Senate Bill 969 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Farm Worker Housing; Non-agricultural Parks; Appropriation ($)

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-21 - Re-Referred to HOU/WLA, WAM. [SB969 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2016-SB969-Amended.html

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	969
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO FARM WORKER HOUSING.

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that it is difficult for farmers in Hawaii who operate small farms to make their farms sustainable for a myriad of reasons, including but not limited to disease and pest control, bad weather, available and reliable markets, and the availability of good farm laborers. The legislature also finds that finding good farm laborers is a challenge for many farmers of small farms because although most are able to pay laborers a decent wage, the farmers are unable to provide incentives such as affordable farm housing to laborers.

Farm labor housing, like affordable rental housing, is scarce in Hawaii primarily because of the cost of land and construction. For farmers of small farms in Hawaii, particularly those that are long-term lessees of agricultural and non-agricultural parks, there are prohibitive factors including restrictive conditions in lease agreements with the State. Generally, farmers that have long-term agricultural land leases of privately owned land in Hawaii have provisions in the leases that allow them to build farm labor housing in addition to an owner-occupied residential dwelling. It appears that this may not be for every farmer who has a long-term lease to farm agricultural and non-agricultural parks because the lease agreements with the department of agriculture limit the lessee to one farm or employee dwelling per lot, upon demonstration of need and approval of the board of agriculture, which must serve as the principal residence of the lessee.

The purpose of this Act is to temporarily provide long-term lessees of non-agricultural parks with the opportunity to build farm labor housing on their leased lots by removing building restrictions in lease agreements. The legislature believes that removing these restrictions will have two major benefits:

(1) Long-term lessees of non-agricultural parks will be able to recruit good, reliable farm laborers that can help them develop sustainable farms; and

(2) Farm laborers will have access to stable, affordable rental housing for themselves and their families.

SECTION 2. Section 166E-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) In all dispositions, the department shall be subject to the requirements set forth in rules adopted by the board consistent with section 166E-6 and subject to the following:

(1) All land and facilities shall be disposed of for purposes of agricultural or aquacultural activities only;

(2) Each lessee shall derive a major portion of the lessee's total annual income earned from the lessee's activities on the premises; provided that this restriction shall not apply if:

(A) Failure to meet the restriction results from mental or physical disability or the loss of a spouse; or

(B) The premises are fully used in the production of crops or products for which the disposition was granted;

(3) The lessee shall comply with all federal and state laws regarding environmental quality control;

(4) The board shall:

(A) Determine the specific uses for which the disposition is intended;

(B) Parcel the land into minimum size economic units sufficient for the intended uses;

(D) Set the upset price or lease rent based upon an appraised evaluation of the property value, adjustable to the specified use of the lot;

(E) Set the term of the lease that shall be not less than fifteen years nor more than sixty-five years, including any extension granted for mortgage lending or guarantee purposes; and

(F) Establish other terms and conditions it deems necessary, including but not limited to restrictions against alienation and provisions for withdrawal by the board; [~~and~~]

(5) Upon demonstration of need and approval of the board, one or more employee dwellings may be built on a lot that is leased by a long-term lessee with lease terms of at least thirty-five years and a lot size of at least five acres; provided that:

(A) The employee dwelling shall serve as the principal residence of employees employed by the long-term lessee; and

(B) The employee dwellings not owned by their occupants shall be rented or leased at affordable rates for agricultural workers, and the lease rent shall be adjusted to reflect the residential use of the lot; and

[~~(5)~~] (6) Any transferee, assignee, or sublessee of a non-agricultural park lease shall first qualify as an applicant under this chapter. For the purpose of this paragraph, any transfer, assignment, sale, or other disposition of any interest, excluding a security interest, by any legal entity that holds a non-agricultural park lease shall be treated as a transfer of the non-agricultural park lease and shall be subject to the approval of the board and to reasonable terms and conditions, consistent with this chapter or rules of the board that the board may deem necessary. No transfer shall be approved by the board if the disposition of the stock or assets or other interest of the legal entity would result in the failure of the entity to qualify for a non-agricultural park land lease."

SECTION 3. (a) The department of agriculture shall examine the implementation of rental housing on non-agricultural park lands as it relates to tenants, including the following:

(1) Activities related to agriculture on non-agricultural park lands;

(2) A performance plan with the board of agriculture to improve agriculture production on non-agricultural park lands;

(3) Procedures to remove tenants living in rental housing on non-agricultural park lands for failure to actively farm;

(4) Whether to continue to allow employee dwellings on non-agricultural park lands; and

(5) Whether lessees are complying with the obligation to actively farm the leased land.

(b) The department of agriculture shall submit a report of its findings, recommendations, and proposed legislation to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2018. The report's findings shall include the number of lessees of non-agricultural park lands placed on compliance plans with the board of agriculture, the number of lessees removed for failure to actively farm, and the number of tenants actively farming.

SECTION 4. 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 enforcement to ensure that tenants living in rental housing on non-agricultural park lands are living in farming residences, including rentals, and are accessory to agricultural use.

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

SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2015; provided that section 2 shall be repealed on June 29, 2018.

Report Title:

Farm Worker Housing; Non-agricultural Parks; Appropriation

Description:

Allows, until 6/29/2018, one or more employee dwellings to be built on a non-agricultural park lot that is leased by a long-term lessee with lease terms of at least thirty-five years and a lot size of at least five acres, with restrictions. Appropriates an unspecified amount from the general fund to be expended by the department of agriculture for rental housing enforcement on non-agricultural park lands. (SD1)

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