Hawaii-2013-SCR134-Introduced

WHEREAS, theft of agricultural equipment, supplies, or products valued at more than $20,000 is prosecutable as a Class B felony; theft of such items valued at more than $100 and up to $20,000 is prosecutable as a Class C felony; and theft of such items valued at $100 or less is prosecutable as a misdemeanor; and

WHEREAS, theft of agricultural commodities generally known to be marketed for commercial purposes, or theft of more than twenty-five pounds of agricultural products, are also prosecutable as a Class C felony; and

WHEREAS, Act 125, Session Laws of Hawaii, 2012, among other matters, requires a person convicted of agricultural theft to make payment to the property owner for the cost of replanting the agricultural product or commodity, in addition to restitution for the value of the stolen agricultural product or commodity; and

WHEREAS, according to a KHON 2 News report, in spite of the above penalties, Hawaii's farmers continue to face the serious ongoing problem of agricultural theft; and

WHEREAS, law enforcement officials have noted a lack of the reporting of incidents due to victims' fears of retaliation, language barriers where English is spoken as a second language, and the difficulty in proving culpability; and

WHEREAS, law enforcement officers face challenges in pursuing suspects, given the difficulty of navigating the unmarked roads in rural areas where many farms are located; and

WHEREAS, there is support in the agricultural community to discourage agricultural theft; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Agriculture create and oversee an Agricultural Theft Task Force; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, more specifically, the Task Force is requested to design a proposed Agricultural Theft Awareness and Prevention Program, to be submitted to the Legislature; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, in designing such a Program, the Task Force is requested to consider the feasibility and likely effectiveness of potential components of the Program, including, but not limited to:

(1) A system, on the Internet or through other means, that facilitates speedy communication between owners and workers of agricultural properties, law enforcement, the Department of Agriculture, and other parties regarding suspected agricultural theft;

(2) The use of a standardized electronic agricultural crime reporting form, with check boxes to facilitate completion of the form;

(3) Classes for owners and workers of agricultural properties to learn about email, text, and messaging, for the purpose of training those individuals to instantly communicate concerns and other information about alleged incidents of agricultural theft;

(4) The provision of funding for increased patrols from law enforcement;

(5) The provision of navigational devices for law enforcement, for the purpose of reducing the amount of travel time involved in pursuing cases of agricultural theft;

(6) The training of law enforcement officers in the most prevalent non-English languages used by owners and workers of agricultural properties, for the purpose of easing language barriers when alleged crimes are reported;

(7) The training of owners and workers of agricultural properties to use English, for the purpose of easing language barriers when alleged crimes are reported;

(8) The creation of public service announcements about the devastating impact of agriculture-related crimes on farmers and the criminal penalties for committing them; and

(9) The procurement of the services of private entities to facilitate any implemented aspects of the program, except for those aspects that only law enforcement should implement; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Task Force Membership is requested to include at least the following:

(1) The Director of Agriculture, or that director's designee;

(2) The Director of Public Safety, or that director's designee;

(3) The Attorney General, or the Attorney General's designee;

(4) The Director of Finance, or that director's designee;

(5) The Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture;

(6) The Chair of the Senate Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs;

(7) The Chair of the House Committee on Agriculture;

(8) The Chair of the House Committee on Public Safety; and

(9) One representative of each of the Police Departments of the Counties of Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii, and the City and County of Honolulu; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Agriculture is requested to submit a report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2014, containing the Task Force's proposed Agricultural Theft Awareness and Prevention Program, including any proposed legislation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to be dissolved on June 30, 2014; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Agriculture; the Director of Public Safety; the Attorney General; the Director of Finance; and the Chiefs of Police of the counties within the State.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Agricultural Theft; Task Force

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	134
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013
STATE OF HAWAII