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

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
 1   Designating Hershey's Kisses as the official State candy of the
 2      Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
 3      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 4   hereby enacts as follows:
 5   Section 1.   Findings and declarations.
 6      The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
 7          (1)   The ship on the official Commonwealth flag
 8      represents commerce from all over the world, and The Hershey
 9      Company, commonly known as Hershey's, offers its candy
10      products for sale in approximately 85 countries.
11          (2)   Hershey's Kisses are one of the most iconic
12      chocolate products ever created by Hershey's and one of the
13      most recognized and beloved chocolate products around the
14      world.
15          (3)   Each day, more than 70 million Hershey's Kisses are
16      produced in Hershey, Dauphin County, which is the town where
17      Milton Hershey was born.
 1        (4)    Hershey's supports many aspects of this
 2    Commonwealth's economy, including supporting this
 3    Commonwealth's proud dairy industry for more than 125 years
 4    through the company's use of fresh dairy milk that surrounds
 5    the company's chocolate factories.
 6        (5)    The Hershey Company is the largest United States
 7    chocolate manufacturer to use fresh fluid milk, sourced daily
 8    from a 100-mile radius of the company's headquarters in
 9    Hershey.
10        (6)    Hershey's Kisses are one of the most popular
11    packaged candy products for Valentine's Day, which is a day
12    when many residents of this Commonwealth express admiration
13    by gifting Hershey's Kisses to their loved ones.
14        (7)    Since 1907, Hershey's Kisses are the original
15    individually wrapped and portion-controlled chocolate
16    confection, which allows consumers to enjoy the treat at any
17    time.
18        (8)    The iconic foil wrapping symbolizes this
19    Commonwealth's steel industry and the innovation of this
20    Commonwealth's manufacturing industry, as each candy was hand
21    wrapped until 1921 with the introduction of the first foil-
22    wrapping machine.
23        (9)    The mission at Hershey's to "bring more moments of
24    goodness to the world" has a positive impact on individuals
25    and communities around the world.
26        (10)    The Hershey Company continues Milton Hershey's
27    philanthropic legacy and belief that business is an act of
28    service. The company invests millions in local communities
29    and incentivizes employee volunteerism and charitable
30    contributions.

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 1          (11)    Hershey's Kisses represent the official State
 2      nickname of the Commonwealth, "The Keystone State," because
 3      the candy's popularity acts as a keystone by providing
 4      thousands of family-sustaining jobs to residents of this
 5      Commonwealth.
 6          (12)    The globally beloved legacy of Milton Hershey and
 7      the products he created transformed Hershey, Pennsylvania,
 8      into a tourist destination for visitors from around the
 9      world.
10          (13)    Hershey's Chocolate World draws over 3.2 million
11      visitors from around the world each year, generates more than
12      $200 million in local tourism and economic impact and is the
13      world's most visited factory experience.
14          (14)    During the time when "kiss" was a common word for a
15      small piece of candy in 1923, Mr. Hershey had the genius idea
16      to trademark the term "Hershey's Milk Chocolate Kisses,"
17      which made the candy one of the most distinctive products
18      recognized around the world and associated with this
19      Commonwealth.
20          (15)    Today, there are many different varieties of
21      Hershey's Kisses that satisfy a variety of different flavor
22      preferences and expectations of consumers in this
23      Commonwealth.
24          (16)    The Hershey Company has manufacturing facilities in
25      the counties of Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Luzerne and
26      Northampton, and the company continues to invest and expand
27      in this Commonwealth by building and opening a new
28      manufacturing facility in Hershey in 2025.
29   Section 2.    Official State candy.
30      Hershey's Kisses are hereby designated as the official State

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1   candy of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in perpetuity, and as
2   long as The Hershey Company's address remains in the
3   Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
4   Section 3.   Effective date.
5      This act shall take effect immediately.




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