(a) All irrigation projects established pursuant to this chapter shall be administered by the board of agriculture. In making the final determination to establish a project, the board shall:

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Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 167-19

  • Acreage assessments: means any levy imposed pursuant to this chapter on the agricultural and pasture land within an irrigation project and any amount charged to the State or to the Hawaiian homes commission for the purpose of acquiring, establishing, or maintaining irrigation facilities for an irrigation project. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 167-2
  • Agricultural land: means that portion of the land of a land occupier lying within an existing or proposed irrigation project and of such location and character as may be profitably employed in the growing of irrigated crops; and "pasture land" means that portion of the land of a land occupier lying within an existing or proposed irrigation project and of such location and character as may be suitable with the use of water for irrigated pasture and may be profitably employed in the production of livestock or poultry. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 167-2
  • Board: means the board of agriculture. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 167-2
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. Source: OCC
  • irrigation project: means an area, contiguous or noncontiguous, established under this chapter within which water is supplied to the State or the Hawaiian homes commission for the development and opening of lands for farming or to land occupiers engaged in farming. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 167-2
  • Land occupier: means the owner or in the case of leased land, the lessee of lands lying within an irrigation project organized or to be organized under this chapter. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 167-2
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • Water tolls: means any charges established by the board for irrigation water supplied by it to the State, the Hawaiian homes commission, and land occupiers. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 167-2
(1) Determine the proportion of acreage assessments to be borne by the agricultural land and pasture land within the project; and
(2) Have the engineering program administrator prepare a map setting forth in detail the exterior boundaries of the lands to be included within the project and an acreage assessment roll listing all known land occupiers whose lands are to be included within the project. The proportion of acreage assessments to be borne by pasture land, at the discretion of the board, may be less than but not more than the proportion to be borne by agricultural land, in which event the agricultural land shall be first served with water in times of drought or shortage of supply. The proportions to be borne by agricultural and pasture lands shall be certified by the board and shall not be changed after final determination to establish the project, except in conjunction with a redefinition of the boundaries of or consolidation or separation of the project, and then only in the manner and within the limitations specified in conjunction therewith.

The board shall determine and certify on or before June 30 of each year the amount of acreage assessments necessary in that fiscal year for the acquisition, construction, operation, and maintenance of irrigation facilities for each project, and the acreage of agricultural and pasture land of each land occupier within the project. The department shall immediately notify the land occupiers of the amounts assessed on the respective properties and the payment due date.

(b) Upon the board’s certification, the chairperson or the chairperson’s designee shall determine the acreage assessment to be levied against the property of each land occupier in the following manner:

(1) By determining the amount of acreage assessments to be borne by the agricultural land and the pasture land within the project according to the proportion previously certified by the board;
(2) By dividing the amount of acreage assessment to be borne by the agricultural land by the number of cultivatable acres, excluding streams, dry gulches, and uncultivatable or unusable lands, within the project and multiplying the quotient by the number of cultivatable acres of agricultural land, except the board may by rules adopted pursuant to chapter 91 set a minimum acreage assessment for uncultivatable or unusable lands, of the occupier within the project; and
(3) By dividing the amount of acreage assessment to be borne by the pasture land by the number of acres of pasture land within the project and multiplying the quotient by the number of acres of pasture land of the land occupier within the project.

The acreage assessments shall be in addition to any real property taxes, and shall be collected by the board together with the monthly water tolls. Except in the case of public lands and lands designated as “available lands” under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, acreage assessments shall be a paramount lien against the entire tract, including improvements, of the land occupier of which the assessed agricultural or pasture land, or both, of the land occupier included within the project forms a part. Acreage assessments levied pursuant to this chapter shall be a lien against each lot or parcel of land assessed from the date of board certification declaring the assessment, and these liens shall have priority over all other liens except real property tax liens and prior recorded state tax liens on real property. The lien may be foreclosed in the same manner as liens for taxes in accordance with sections 231-61 to 231-70. In case of the foreclosure of any homestead land pursuant to sections 231-61 to 231-70, the foreclosure sale shall be subject to chapter 171. In the case of public lands and lands designated as “available lands” under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, acreage assessments shall not constitute a lien on the property involved and notice of any delinquent acreage assessment shall be served upon either the board of land and natural resources or the Hawaiian homes commission, as applicable, for payment.

(c) All or any portion of the acreage assessments collected under this chapter, as determined by the board, exclusive of acreage assessments imposed on lands within an irrigation project financed through the issuance of revenue bonds, shall be deposited into the irrigation system revolving fund. Acreage assessments imposed on lands within an irrigation project financed through the issuance of revenue bonds shall be deposited into the general fund.
(d) Water tolls fixed by the board for each project under this chapter shall be collected by the board under such reasonable rules and procedures as it may establish and may modify from time to time.
(e) All water tolls, acreage assessments, and receipts from properties sold by way of foreclosure for failure to pay acreage assessments shall be realizations of the board.

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