Report Title:

Genetic Engineering; Disclosure

Description:

Requires a biotech company that sells a genetically engineered organism to provide written disclose of possible risks from the use of such an organism; written notice does not waive any liability a biotech company may have toward a purchaser.

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

645

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO GENETIC ENGINEERING.

 

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the economic health of Hawaii's agricultural sector is critical to the overall health of Hawaii's economy, and that this depends in major part on the high reputation of Hawaii's farmers and their agricultural products.

Growth in genetically engineered agricultural production has been swift and pervasive throughout the nation. The quick acceptance of the new technology by American farmers may, however, pose serious consequences for conventional agriculture -- consequences that scientists do not yet fully understand. Those consequences have created doubt about the wisdom of growing genetically engineered agricultural products, both within the farming community and Congress.

The greatest potential harm of genetically engineered crops is that the use of genetically engineered seeds and plants by a farmer could, unintentionally, alter the crops being produced by a neighboring farmer, or alter other plants or animals, including insects and microorganisms which interact with domestic crops, as well as plants and animals within the natural environment.

No practical way of safeguarding against this risk is available, other than abstaining from use of genetically engineered material. The recent fiasco involving Starlink corn, a variety approved only for animal consumption because of its possible allergenic effects on humans, attests to this. Farmers who unwittingly planted the corn have had to accept prices for their crops well below production costs. Grain elevators have had to test their inventories and attempt to segregate millions of bushels of contaminated stocks. Foreign markets have refused to accept shipments of United States corn. The European Commission is drafting regulations that include mandatory segregation and labeling of genetically engineered crops. Two of the top three grocery chains in the United Kingdom have announced that they will sell meat products from livestock fed feed only from conventional, non-genetically engineered crops. The American Crop Growers Association is concerned that these recent actions may also have a negative effect on U.S. exports. Europe has increasingly turned to Brazil, where the cultivation and sale of genetically engineered seeds are banned, to meet its need for animal feed.

The purpose of this Act is to require a biotech company that sells a genetically engineered organism to provide written disclose of possible risks from the use of such an organism.

SECTION 2. Chapter 142, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part IV to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§142-   Disclosure. (a) A biotech company that sells any genetically engineered animal, genetically engineered plant, or genetically engineered seed that the biotech company knows, or has reason to believe, will be used to produce an agricultural commodity shall provide written notice to the purchaser that fully and clearly discloses the possible legal and environmental risks that the use of the genetically engineered animal, genetically engineered plant, or genetically engineered seed may pose to the purchaser.

(b) The provision of written notice under subsection (a) does not relieve the biotech company from any liability that may result from the release of genetically engineered material into the environment. The receipt of the written notice by the purchaser shall not be construed to waive any liability under this section.

(c) The chairperson of the board of agriculture may bring an action to recover a civil penalty against any person who violates this section, or who has knowingly violated a rule or order made pursuant to this section. A civil penalty of not more than $100,000 may be assessed for each violation. Any penalty assessed under this section is in addition to any civil or criminal actions otherwise available against the same conduct.

(d) For purposes of this section:

(1) "Biotech company" means a person, partnership, corporation, or other entity engaged in the business of genetically engineering an organism, or obtaining the patent rights to such an organism for the purposes of commercial use of that organism;

(2) "Genetically engineered animal" means an animal that contains a genetically engineered material or was produced with a genetically engineered material. An animal shall be considered to contain a genetically engineered material or to have been produced with a genetically engineered material if the animal has been injected or otherwise treated with a genetically engineered material, or is the offspring of an animal that has been so injected or treated;

(3) "Genetically engineered material" means material that has been altered at the molecular or cellular level by means that are not possible under natural conditions or processes (including recombinant DNA or RNA techniques, cell fusion, microencapsulation, gene deletion and doubling, introducing a foreign gene, and changing the positions of genes), other than a means consisting exclusively of breeding, conjugation, fermentation, hybridization, in vitro fertilization, tissue culture, or mutogenesis.

(4) "Genetically engineered plant" means a plant that contains a genetically engineered material or was produced with a genetically engineered material. A plant shall be considered to contain a genetically engineered material if the plant has been injected or otherwise treated with a genetically engineered material (except that the use of manure as a fertilizer for the plant may not be construed to mean that the plant is produced with a genetically engineered material); and

(5) "Genetically engineered seed" means a seed that contains a genetically engineered material or was produced with a genetically engineered material. A seed shall be considered to contain a genetically engineered material or to have been produced with a genetically engineered material if the seed (or the plant from which the seed is derived) has been injected or otherwise treated with a genetically engineered material (except that the use of manure as a fertilizer for the plant may not be construed to mean that any resulting seeds are produced with a genetically engineered material)."

SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.

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

INTRODUCED BY:

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