Senate Passes Bloom Agricultural Products Bill

State Representative Stephen Bloom
199th District, Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Contact: Abbey Fosnot RepBloom.com
[email protected] Facebook.com/RepBloom
717.260.6222

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 21, 2011

Senate Passes Bloom Bill Boosting PA Agricultural Products

HARRISBURG – Today, the Senate unanimously approved a measure sponsored by Rep. Stephen Bloom (R-Cumberland) that provides for the licensing and use of the PA Preferred® trademark for Pennsylvania’s agricultural products. House Bill 1424 will now go to the governor’s desk, where it is expected to be signed into law.

House Bill 1424, the Pennsylvania Preferred Act, requires the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) to acquire, register, license, protect and promote the PA Preferred® trademark for use in the sale and promotion of Pennsylvania-produced products.

The bill gives the PDA the tools it needs to effectively administer the PA Preferred® program and encourages more licensees to promote locally grown and produced Pennsylvania commodities under the PA Preferred® label.

"The Pennsylvania Preferred Act will grow jobs by helping Pennsylvania farmers, producers, and processors connect more consumers with high-quality local agricultural products," said Bloom, "Producers, processors, retailers and even restaurants that use qualifying menu items may apply for a license to use the trademark."

Bloom emphasized that the use of the trademark does not create new governmental costs.

"There are no taxes or mandates involved in the PA Preferred® trademark licensing program and participation is always voluntary," he said, "The trademark is a recognized symbol of quality that participants can use to promote their own qualifying products to consumers in the marketplace."

The PA Preferred® program began in 2004. The PDA initiated the program to set standards for excellence and to expand consumer markets for high-quality Pennsylvania products.

The new legislation gives the PDA the authority to set the terms of licensing agreements with qualifying producers, processors and marketers of Pennsylvania agricultural commodities who are seeking the privilege of using the PA Preferred® trademark.

"Agriculture is essential to Pennsylvania’s economy and provides many jobs and feeds our population, so in these tough economic times it’s great to have an opportunity to build on that success by improving market conditions, while keeping government involvement and spending to a minimum," said Bloom.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The PA Preferred Trademark logo is attached in jpg format for your use.
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