STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1393

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 562
                                        S.D. 2




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which
was referred H.B. No. 562, S.D. 1, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MEASUREMENT STANDARDS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to establish additional
labeling requirements for macadamia nuts and macadamia nut
products.

     The Department of Agriculture and Hawaiian Sun Products,
Inc. submitted testimony in opposition to the measure.

     Your Committee finds that the State has an interest in
distinguishing its locally-grown, high quality macadamia nuts
from macadamia nuts grown in other parts of the world.  This
measure provides the local macadamia nut industry with greater
flexibility in identifying its nuts as a product of Hawaii while
ensuring that only packages containing one hundred percent
locally-grown macadamia nuts may bear the descriptions "Hawaii-
Grown" or "Hawaiian".

     Your Committee further finds, however, that the proposed
requirement that products containing less than one hundred per
cent Hawaii-grown macadamia nuts state the geographic origin and
weight of the non-Hawaii-grown macadamia nuts on the product's
principal display panel would be unduly burdensome on processors
of macadamia nut products.  Processors unable to comply with the

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1393
                                   Page 2


requirement may be compelled to move their businesses out of the
State.   

     Additionally, enforcement of the above labeling requirement
would be problematic since it would be difficult to identify the
source and the amount of the foreign macadamia nuts in a blended
macadamia nut product.  Further, the State would not have
jurisdiction over the labeling of products produced outside of
Hawaii. 

      Based on the above considerations, your Committee has
amended this measure by deleting the requirement that a macadamia
nut product comprised of less than one hundred per cent Hawaii-
grown macadamia nuts state the geographic origin and the weight
of the non-Hawaii-grown nuts on the product's principal display
panel. 

     Your Committee has also amended this measure's effective
date.
 
     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to
this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and
purpose of H.B. No. 562, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and
recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto
as H.B. No. 562, S.D. 2.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Commerce and
                                   Consumer Protection,



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN KANNO, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Co-Chair

 
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