Hawaii HCR94: Urging the Department of Education and Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to Jointly Develop a Farmer-to-institution Coordination Plan That is Aligned with the Aina Kitchen Network Rollout.

What the bill says

From the engrossed text:

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ~ IN THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D. STATE OF HAWAII HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND BIOSECURITY TO JOINTLY DEVELOP A FARMER-TO-INSTITUTION COORDINATION PLAN THAT IS ALIGNED WITH THE AINA KITCHEN NETWORK ROLLOUT. WHEREAS, Act 175, Session Laws of Hawaii 2021, requires the Department of Education to source thirty percent of school meal ingredients from local producers by 2030; and WHEREAS, in the school year 2023-2024, the Department of Education achieved only 5.43 percent local food procurement, which is less than one--fifth of the thirty percent target, with only four school years remaining before the 2030 deadline; and WHEREAS, Auditor's Report No. 26-08 found systemic failures in the Department of Education's approach to local food procurement including the absence of centralized tracking software, inconsistent identification of locally sourced products, and discrepancies between internal and reported food cost figures; and WHEREAS, the audit further found that schools left approximately $1,000,000 in federal Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program funds unspent in the 2023-2024 school year and an additional $913,000 unspent in 2024--2025, representing nearly $2,000,000 in available federal funding specifically designated for local produce that was not utilized; and WHEREAS, the Department of Education broke ground in January 2026 on the first facility of the "AINA Kitchen Network" in Whitmore Village; this facility …

Read the full official text

Sponsors

• Trish La Chica (D, 37) · primary sponsor
• Terez Amato (D, 11)
• Gedeon, Joe (R, 18)
• Tina Grandinetti (D, 20)
• Kim Iwamoto (D, 25)
• Jeanne Kapela (D, 5)
• Matthias Kusch (D, 1)
• Lisa Marten (D, 51)
• Garner Shimizu (R, 32)
• Shirley Ann Templo (D, 30)

Latest actions

1. April 10, 2026: Referred to EDU/AEN.
2. April 10, 2026: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 554).
3. April 9, 2026: Transmitted to Senate.
4. April 9, 2026: Adopted with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran excused (1).
5. April 9, 2026: Reported from AGR (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1902-26), recommending adoption.
6. April 8, 2026: The committee on AGR recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Chun, Kusch, Kahaloa, Lowen, Perruso, Matsumoto; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Quinlan.
7. April 2, 2026: Resolution scheduled to be heard by AGR on Wednesday, 04-08-26 10:00AM in conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
8. April 2, 2026: Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on AGR as amended in HD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0).
9. April 2, 2026: Reported from EDN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1773-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending referral to AGR.
10. March 31, 2026: The committee on EDN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 6 Ayes: Representative(s) Woodson, La Chica, Amato, Evslin, Kapela, Olds; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 4 Excused: Representative(s) Garrett, Kila, Muraoka, Souza.

Votes

• Adopted with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran excused (1) (April 9, 2026): 50 yea, 0 nay, passed
• AGR: recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED (April 8, 2026): 6 yea, 0 nay, passed
• Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on AGR as amended in HD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and none excused (0) (April 2, 2026): 51 yea, 0 nay, passed
• EDN: recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS (March 31, 2026): 6 yea, 0 nay, passed

Common questions

What is HCR94?

HCR94 is a bill in the Hawaii Legislature (2026 Regular Session): Urging the Department of Education and Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to Jointly Develop a Farmer-to-institution Coordination Plan That is Aligned with the Aina Kitchen Network Rollout.

What is the status of HCR94?

In committee as of April 10, 2026. Latest action: Referred to EDU/AEN. (April 10, 2026).

Who sponsored HCR94?

Trish La Chica (D, 37), with 9 co-sponsors.

Where is the official record for HCR94?

On the Hawaii Legislature website: https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HCR&billnumber=94&year=2026