The following testimony was presented February 15,, 2023, by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii to the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment.
___________
Feb. 15, 2023
1:30 p.m.
VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE
Conference Room 224
To: Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment
Senator Mike Gabbard, Chair
Senator Herbert M. “Tim” Richards III, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Jonathan Helton, Policy Researcher
RE: SB756 — RELATING TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Comments Only
Dear Chair and Committee Members:
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii would like to offer its comments on SB756, which would allow cottage food operations to sell cottage food with a permit from the state Department of Health.
We commend the Legislature for examining ways to reduce unnecessary regulation and provide new opportunities for local businesses. Expanding access to cottage food is a smart, relevant way to help small businesses and local food producers.
In the past several years, Hawaii lawmakers, farmers and the general public have taken an increased interest in local agriculture and food production. Many express the desire to make Hawaii more self-reliant and sustainable.
The state Department of Agriculture and various other state agencies have invested significant resources in Hawaii’s food-production capabilities. This bill augments those efforts by reducing red tape on selling locally produced food.
By focusing on smart regulation, SB756 could help decrease the cost of operating a cottage food establishment.
In addition, providing new opportunities for Hawaii’s residents to become entrepreneurs is exactly what we recommended in our “Road map to prosperity” report, issued in May 2020. Its suggestions are just as relevant today as Hawaii continues to recover and deals with rampant inflation as well.
In that report, we focused on strategies to rebuild the state’s economy following the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns.
We emphasized the importance of implementing regulatory reforms that would help local businesses innovate, explore different products and services and reach new customers.
One of the recommendations offered was that the Legislature “remove county zoning and licensing restrictions on home-based businesses and state restrictions on cottage foods.”
It said, “The simplest approach would be to enact statewide legislation that protects home-based businesses that are compatible with residential use, secondary to residential use, and do not adversely impact the community.”
This measure would further that goal and provide Hawaii families with new potential income streams that would contribute to the local economy and a more sustainable, diversified future.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Jonathan Helton
Policy Researcher
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
