State Legislation Requiring Genetically Modified Organism Labeling As of 7/15/13 State Bill # Notes AZ SB 1180 CO HB 1192 CT HB 6418 CT HB 6519 CT HB 6527* Governor signed on 6/25/13 FL HB 1233 SB 1728 HI HB 174 Adjourned - Carried over to 2014 HB 348 Adjourned - Carried over to 2014 HB 349 Adjourned - Carried over to 2014 HB 627 Adjourned - Carried over to 2014 HB 631 Adjourned - Carried over to 2014 HB 733 Adjourned - Carried over to 2014 HR 149 Adopted in House on 4/12/13, Requires National Labeling System SB 468 Adjourned - Carried over to 2014 SB 615 Adjourned - Carried over to 2014 SB 934 Adjourned - Carried over to 2014 SB 935 Adjourned - Carried over to 2014, Prohibits sales of GMO in HI SB 1290 Adjourned - Carried over to 2014 SB 1329 Adjourned - Carried over to 2014 IL HB 3085 Unlikely to move out of Rules Committee SB 1666* Failed to meet committee reporting deadline, referred to Senate Assignments Committee IA HF 463 SF 194 ME LD 718* Passed both Houses and sent to Governor Paul LePage on 7/9/2013 Page 1 of 5
LD 898 LR 731 LR 1678 MD HB 903 Withdrawn at Sponsor s Request MA* HB 808 measure. HB 2037 the measure. HB 2093 measure. Joint Committee Hearing Held 6/3/13 - no action was taken on the Joint Committee Hearing Held 6/11/13 - no action was taken on Committee Hearing Held 6/11/13 - no action was taken on the MN HF 850 Priority for 2014 Session SF 821 Priority for 2014 Session MO HB 245 Withdrawn at Sponsor s Request SB 155 MT LC 1590 NV AB 330 Failed to meet Committee Passage Deadline NH HB 660 Retained by Committee Passage Unlikely NJ AB 2955 In Cons. Affairs Committee, Companion to SB 1367 AB 3192 Transferred and Public hearing held in Budget Committee; proposal passed 6/17/2013. SB 1367 In Health, Human Svcs. & Senior Citizens Committee, Chairmen Still a work in progress NY* AB 3525A Failed in Committee, Companion to SB 3835 AB 5283 Adjourned - Carried over to 2014 AB 5412 Adjourned - Carried over to 2014 SB 3835 Adjourned - Carried over to 2014--Companion to AB 3525A SB 4468 Adjourned - Carried over to 2014 OR HB 2175 HB 2532 HB 3177 HB 3293 PA SB 653 In Sen. Ag & Rural Affairs Committee Also GMO Co-sponsorship Memo, Not yet a Bill RI HB 5278 Comm. Hearing Held 4/24/13, Held for Further Study Page 2 of 5
HB 5849 Comm. Hearing Held 4/24/13, Held for Further Study (The General Assembly recessed July 3 and is unlikely to return before the 2014 legislative session convenes. All legislation remains active.) TN HB 1168 Adjourned - Carried over to 2014 Companion to SB 894 HB 1169 Adjourned - Carried over to 2014 Companion to SB 893 SB 893 Adjourned - Carried over to 2014 Companion to HB 1169 SB 894 Adjourned - Carried over to 2014 Companion to HB 1168 UT HJ.R 20 Passed House and Senate, (Concur) Calls for Study VT HB 112 Passed House - Moves to Senate in 2014, Limits Retailer Liability AB 89 Adjourned Carried over to 2014 WA HB 1407 Carried over upon adjournment 6/30/2013 - Companion to SB 5167 SB 5073 Carried over upon adjournment 6/30/2013 SB 5167 Carried over upon adjournment 6/30/2013 1407 I-522 Ballot Initiative Qualified for Ballot W.VA HB 2153 Adjourned Carried over to 2014 Tabulation and Color Key 65 Bills, and one Co-Sponsorship Memo, were introduced this session in 25 States. Of these - 23 Bills Died (20-Upon Adjournment, 2-Withdrawn at Sponsor s Request, 1-Failed to pass Committee) 28 Bills were Carried Over to the 2014 Legislative Session 10 Bills are Still Active in 7 States (IL, ME, MA, NH, NY, OR, PA) 1 Ballot Initiative (I-522) Qualified for the Ballot and is an active threat in WA 1 Bill was signed into law (CT) Current Legislative Threats *CT HB 6527, An ACT Concerning Genetically-Engineered Food requires mandatory labeling of all foods made with Genetic engineering and sold in CT. It also prohibits labeling of all genetically engineered foods as Natural. The bill exempts restaurants, alcoholic beverages, farmers markets, non-genetically engineered animals and small farms. It provides a limitation of liability for retailers, except for private brands. It takes effect only if four additional states with aggregated population of more than 20 million and that one of the four states must border CT. The Natural provision could take effect on 10/1/13. The bill was signed by Governor Dan Malloy (D) on 6/25/13. Current version (6/1/2013): http://www.cga.ct.gov/2013/amd/s/pdf/2013hb-06527-- R00SA-AMD.pdf Page 3 of 5
*IL - Senator Dave Koehler (D) is holding public hearings across the state to gauge support for a genetically engineered food labeling bill, S.B. 1666, he introduced during the 2013 legislative session. S.B. 1666 received a hearing in the Agriculture and Conservation Committee, where the committee referred the measure to the Food Labeling Subcommittee. Senator Koehler said he introduced S.B. 1666 to give consumers an opportunity to make informed choices by labeling products. In Illinois, both chambers of the General Assembly, as well as the Governor's office, are controlled by Democrats. Senator Koehler held the first public hearing June 20 on the campus of Illinois State University. The Illinois Stewardship Alliance testified in favor of labeling genetically engineered foods. The Alliance testified that any added costs of the labeling should be transferred to the patent holders who create the seeds. The Illinois Soybean Association testified against the labeling. Hearings have been scheduled for Carbondale in August and Chicago in September. http://www.senatordavekoehler.com/index.php/component/content/article/53-video/141- video-genetically-engineered-food-labeling-hearing-at-isu http://www.senatordavekoehler.com/index.php/news/3-news/139-news-first-state-hearing-on-genetically-engineered-food-labeling-scheduled-for-thursday *ME LD 718 The bill was sent to Governor Paul LePage (R) on 7/9/2013. Maine has adjourned for the year, however, when the legislature reconvenes in January, the Governor is expected to sign LD 718. In its final form, it was amended to define "food" as intended for human consumption. This bill requires disclosure of genetic engineering at the point of retail sale of food and seed stock and provides that food or seed stock for which the disclosure is not made is considered to be misbranded and subject to the sanctions for misbranding. The bill prohibits the use of the word natural in describing genetically engineered food products. It exempts products produced without knowledge that the products, or items used in their production, were genetically engineered; animal products derived from an animal that was not genetically engineered but was fed genetically engineered food; and products with only a minimum content produced by genetic engineering. The bill also exempts restaurants, alcoholic beverages and medical food. The disclosure provisions are administered by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. It requires that five other states pass similar legislation, or that the aggregated population of additional states passing similar legislation exceeds 20 million people. *MA - HB 808, HB 2037, HB 2093 -- while each of these bills were heard in Joint Committee hearings this month, no actions were taken on the measure during the public hearings. The Massachusetts Food Association is monitoring closely, but they find passage in 2013 unlikely. Passage would certainly help proponents of legislation in CT reach their 4-state threshold for implementation. *NY - A.3525A failed to pass out of the Assembly Consumer Affairs and Protection Committee 6-3-13. This measure will no longer receive consideration this session. Page 4 of 5
Besides requiring GMO labeling, the proposal would have created a new burdensome paper trail for non-gmo products. There has been no movement on S.3835A (companion legislation) in the Senate and no decision has been made to report the bill. Companion legislation is considered important to moving bills through the legislative process. Four other pending GMO bills have been carried over to 2014. VT HB 112 passed the House of Representatives and will move to the Senate upon the beginning of the 2014 Legislative Session. This bill provides liability relief for retailers. Page 5 of 5