Lawmakers deferred Senate Bill 1548, a measure intended to make it easier for the Department of Education to purchase local edible produce and packaged food products for school meals. The bill would have exempted small-dollar purchases from the state electronic procurement system and required multiple written quotes for purchases within specified thresholds; it included provisions to assist rural schools and a sunset date.

Deputy Superintendent Dean Uchida and DOE witnesses said the department supports the intent and is working with the State Procurement Office on practical procurement strategies. Bonnie Kahakui, State Procurement Office Administrator, offered recommendations in written testimony and described operational constraints. Committee members pressed the DOE on whether existing distributor arrangements and local preferences could be adjusted rather than creating a separate procurement path; senators repeatedly urged the department to return with a concrete implementation plan and more specificity about how local preference and distributor systems would be coordinated.

Committee leaders concluded the proposal is premature without clearer operational detail and coordination, and the committee voted to defer the bill to allow the DOE and procurement officials more time to develop a workable approach to raising local procurement levels (the Department cited a 30-by-30 goal to source 30% of food locally by 2030). The hearing record did not include a final appropriation or a detailed procurement framework.

Votes and outcome: The committee deferred SB1548 for further work.

Why this matters: The bill addresses school food procurement and local agricultural markets; lawmakers signaled support for the policy goal but asked DOE and the State Procurement Office to propose a concrete procurement mechanism to achieve local-purchase targets without creating legal or logistical conflicts.