"It is an illegal action on the part of the council, and it won't be implemented," Harris said yesterday. "The unfortunate thing is that the entire fiasco with Bill 35 is, I believe, irresponsible behavior on the part of the City Council for political purposes. And in the process, they are misleading the farmers ... and putting them in a bad situation."

Council chairman Donovan Dela Cruz said he believed Bill 35 was legal and was needed to help farmers whose taxes have increased, but said he had no immediate plan for forcing Harris to comply with it.

"As far as I'm concerned, this is now the law," he said. "We have to assume the administration is going to follow the law."

Dela Cruz also named a seven-member task force that will recommend changes to the law before next year's tax assessments are made.

The veto was overturned by a vote of 7 to 2, with council members Barbara Marshall and Gary Okino in opposition. On July 14, the council had passed the measure by the same vote.

The deadline for seeking a tax break under Bill 35 was Monday, and officials said less than 30 people had applied. Harris said his administration will not recognize those applications, but will continue to accept any made under another provision.

The difference is that tax relief will only be granted to those who can show they are using land for legitimate agricultural purposes, Harris said. Bill 35 allows a tax break for all agricultural land, including any kept vacant for future development, and Okino said that it would do more harm than good.

"It will have no effect at all on helping the farmers, but it will be an unnecessary giveaway to the big landowners," he said.

Marshall said she believed tax increases on farmland were caused largely by faulty assessments that gave top value to parcels pocked with gullies and ravines, but that Bill 35 was not a good response.

"I do believe this was a bad bill and it was illegal ... and I don't want to give false hopes," she said.

Tax revenue from agricultural land jumped from $4 million last year to more than $13 million this year.

Tam charged that the administration needed the extra money "in order for the mayor to look good financially when he leaves office this year."

Harris dismissed such criticism as "political shibai," and said he believed the council knew fully well that Bill 35 could not be enforced. The council could have voted to lower the tax rate if it wanted to address the issue responsibly, he said.

Dozens of farmers and supporters packed City Hall yesterday.

"We, the salt of the earth, the caretakers of the 'aina, are under attack," said farmer Robert Cappella. "Mark my words, if this tax increase is allowed to stand, farming on the island of O'ahu will become a thing of the past, and as far as the eye can see there will be nothing but asphalt and concrete."

Cappella said he had not appealed his tax bill, but said he did not believe he should have to.

Arvid Youngquist, who said he was descended from farmers, lamented the political nature of the dispute.

"I think it's sad that the mayor and the City Council continue to bicker," Youngquist said.

The issue has other strong political overtones. Many of those urging support for Bill 35 carried signs criticizing former councilman Duke Bainum, a candidate for mayor.

Bainum introduced a bill in 2002 that changed the agricultural property-tax structure from a formula based on crop yield to one based on land value. The council unanimously approved Bill 10 in all three votes required before passage.

Council budget chairwoman Ann Kobayashi, who sponsored Bill 35, said she had believed Bill 10 was a "revenue-neutral" measure when she voted for it, and now regrets doing so.

Mayoral candidate Mufi Hannemann has urged support for Bill 35 and blamed Bainum for increased taxes on farmland.

But Bainum says the issue is not that simple, and that Bill 35 is a giveaway to powerful special interests using farmers as a smokescreen.

Dela Cruz appointed 7 people to the task force that is to recommend changes to the tax law:

• Yuki Kitagawa (chairman), a former chairman of the state Department of Agriculture;

• Calvin Lum (vice chairman), rancher;

• Jimmy Nakatani, also a former chairman of the state Department of Agriculture;

• Dean Okimoto, farmer;

• Kapu Smith, Kamehameha Schools plantation manager;

• Amy Hirano, consultant;

• Lowell Kalapa, Tax Foundation of Hawai'i president.