A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO HAWAII-GROWN TEA.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the tea whose scientific name is Camellia sinensis was first brought to Hawaii in 1887.  Although the tea was not as profitable as other crops like pineapple and sugar cane, the University of Hawaii's college of tropical agriculture and human resources recently discovered from research over the past twenty years that Hawaii- grown tea has a potential of becoming a specialty crop for the State.

     The legislature further finds that the tea market globally is a multi-billion dollar industry.  The specialty tea market is anticipated to double in the next five years.  Hawaii- grown tea has the potential to take advantage of that tremendous boom in the tea industry, particularly in Asia where tea is a staple beverage and with health-conscious consumers.

     The purpose of this Act is to protect the marketing of Hawaii-grown tea by requiring labeling standards.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 486, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part V to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§486-    Hawaii-grown tea; labeling requirements.  (a)  In addition to all other labeling requirements, the identity statement used for labeling or advertising tea produced wholly or in part from Hawaii-grown tea shall meet the following requirements:

     (1)  For Hawaii-grown tea that is one hundred per cent Hawaii-grown tea by weight, the identity statement shall consist of the wording "One hundred per-cent Hawaii-grown tea";

     (2)  For Hawaii-grown tea that is a blend of Hawaii-grown tea and other teas not grown in Hawaii, the identity statement shall consist of the wording, "Blended from Hawaii-grown teas and other teas not grown in Hawaii"; provided that a blended Hawaii-grown tea shall consist of no less than twenty-five per cent Hawaii-grown by weight; and

     (3)  Each word or character in the identity statement shall be of the same type size and shall be contiguous.  The smallest letter or character of the identity statement on packages of sixteen ounces or less net weight shall be at least one and one-half times the type size required under federal law for the statement of net weight or three-sixteenths of an inch in height, whichever is smaller.  The smallest letter or character of the identity statement on packages of greater than sixteen ounces net weight shall be at least one and one-half times the type size required under federal law for the statement of net weight.  The identity statement shall be conspicuously displayed without any intervening material in a position above the statement of net weight.  Upper and lower case letters may be used interchangeably in the identity statement.

     (b)  It shall be a violation of this section to misrepresent on a label or in advertising of a Hawaii-grown tea, the percentage of Hawaii-grown tea by weight.

     (c)  Violation of this section shall be punishable by a fine of no more than $           for each separate offense.  For purposes of this section, each mislabeled package shall constitute a separate offense.

     (d)  As used in this section:

     "Per cent Hawaii-grown tea by weight" means a percentage calculated by dividing the total weight in pounds in a production run of tea grown in Hawaii by the total weight in pounds of tea in that same production run, and multiplying the quotient by one hundred."

     SECTION 3.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Report Title:

Hawaii-grown Tea; Labeling

Description:

Establishes labeling requirements for Hawaii-grown tea.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.