HI HCR188

Requests the Hawaii Tourism Authority to establish an Agricultural Tourism Working Group to review existing laws and ordinances and recommend ways to encourage agricultural tourism growth in Hawaii.

Working group membership would include the HTA President/CEO as Chair, the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity Chairperson, a representative from each of the four counties selected by their mayors, and representatives from the Hawaii Farm Bureau and Hawaii Farmers Union.

Additional industry representatives may be invited from Hawaii's coffee, cacao, macadamia nut, and floriculture sectors.

Report with findings, recommendations, and proposed legislation is due to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the Regular Session of 2027, with the working group dissolving on June 30, 2027.

Resolution addresses concerns that inconsistent county permitting processes and varying interpretations of state law have created a disjointed regulatory framework, while ambiguity may allow bad faith actors to misuse agricultural lands.