Pennsylvania SB 667: An Act designating Hershey's Kisses as the official State candy of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Bill Text

PRINTER'S NO. 842
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 667
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY FARRY, KIM, SANTARSIERO, TARTAGLIONE, FONTANA,
COLLETT, BROWN, COMITTA, KANE, CAPPELLETTI, VOGEL, ROTHMAN,
PICOZZI, SCHWANK AND ARGALL, MAY 27, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMUNITY, ECONOMIC AND RECREATIONAL DEVELOPMENT,
MAY 27, 2025
AN ACT
Designating Hershey's Kisses as the official State candy of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Findings and declarations.
The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) The ship on the official Commonwealth flag
represents commerce from all over the world, and The Hershey
Company, commonly known as Hershey's, offers its candy
products for sale in approximately 85 countries.
(2) Hershey's Kisses are one of the most iconic
chocolate products ever created by Hershey's and one of the
most recognized and beloved chocolate products around the
world.
(3) Each day, more than 70 million Hershey's Kisses are
produced in Hershey, Dauphin County, which is the town where
Milton Hershey was born.
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(4) Hershey's supports many aspects of this
Commonwealth's economy, including supporting this
Commonwealth's proud dairy industry for more than 125 years
through the company's use of fresh dairy milk that surrounds
the company's chocolate factories.
(5) The Hershey Company is the largest United States
chocolate manufacturer to use fresh fluid milk, sourced daily
from a 100-mile radius of the company's headquarters in
Hershey.
(6) Hershey's Kisses are one of the most popular
packaged candy products for Valentine's Day, which is a day
when many residents of this Commonwealth express admiration
by gifting Hershey's Kisses to their loved ones.
(7) Since 1907, Hershey's Kisses are the original
individually wrapped and portion-controlled chocolate
confection, which allows consumers to enjoy the treat at any
time.
(8) The iconic foil wrapping symbolizes this
Commonwealth's steel industry and the innovation of this
Commonwealth's manufacturing industry, as each candy was hand
wrapped until 1921 with the introduction of the first foil-
wrapping machine.
(9) The mission at Hershey's to "bring more moments of
goodness to the world" has a positive impact on individuals
and communities around the world.
(10) The Hershey Company continues Milton Hershey's
philanthropic legacy and belief that business is an act of
service. The company invests millions in local communities
and incentivizes employee volunteerism and charitable
contributions.
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(11) Hershey's Kisses represent the official State
nickname of the Commonwealth, "The Keystone State," because
the candy's popularity acts as a keystone by providing
thousands of family-sustaining jobs to residents of this
Commonwealth.
(12) The globally beloved legacy of Milton Hershey and
the products he created transformed Hershey, Pennsylvania,
into a tourist destination for visitors from around the
world.
(13) Hershey's Chocolate World draws over 3.2 million
visitors from around the world each year, generates more than
$200 million in local tourism and economic impact and is the
world's most visited factory experience.
(14) During the time when "kiss" was a common word for a
small piece of candy in 1923, Mr. Hershey had the genius idea
to trademark the term "Hershey's Milk Chocolate Kisses,"
which made the candy one of the most distinctive products
recognized around the world and associated with this
Commonwealth.
(15) Today, there are many different varieties of
Hershey's Kisses that satisfy a variety of different flavor
preferences and expectations of consumers in this
Commonwealth.
(16) The Hershey Company has manufacturing facilities in
the counties of Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Luzerne and
Northampton, and the company continues to invest and expand
in this Commonwealth by building and opening a new
manufacturing facility in Hershey in 2025.
Section 2. Official State candy.
Hershey's Kisses are hereby designated as the official State
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candy of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in perpetuity, and as
long as The Hershey Company's address remains in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Section 3. Effective date.
This act shall take effect immediately.
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