HB 776 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL SUPPORT.

Summary

Establishes within the Department of Agriculture the Hawaii Agricultural Transportation Assistance Program, to consist of a reimbursement program and grant program, to assist certain farmers and livestock producers with transportation costs for agricultural products, inputs, supplies, and production and distribution of agricultural commodities. Requires reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 17, 2025 Last action Dec 8, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HB776 → HB776_HD1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill revision adds a new grant program for food hubs and small-scale producers, removes a specific $8,000 reimbursement cap to allow flexible funding, and significantly delays the effective date to July 1, 3000, likely to allow time for future legislative appropriation. The changes aim to broaden the program's reach and remove rigid financial limits while ensuring funds are not spent until explicitly appropriated by the legislature.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include 'food hubs' as eligible recipients for grants, and the definition of eligible producers was clarified to require substantial commercial quantities.

ELIGIBILITY

Added 'food hubs' to the list of entities eligible to receive transportation grants alongside small-scale farmers and ranchers.

FISCAL

Removed the specific $8,000 annual reimbursement cap, replacing it with a blank field to allow the legislature to set a new limit or leave it open-ended.

Added new sections (4 and 5) to explicitly appropriate funds from the general revenue and the special fund for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027.

TIMELINE

Changed the effective date of the Act from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 3000, effectively pausing implementation until a future appropriation is made.

REQUIREMENT

Updated the annual reporting requirements to include a specific breakdown of fund sources and expenditures.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 11, 2025

Committee

Reported from AGR (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 398) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.

lower

Feb 7, 2025

Lower · Passed

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.

lower

Jan 21, 2025

Committee

Referred to AGR, FIN, referral sheet 2

lower

Jan 21, 2025

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 17, 2025

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors