BILL NUMBER: AB 2384 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 236
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 13, 2006
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 13, 2006
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 30, 2006
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 24, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 7, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 28, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 15, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 26, 2006
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Leno
(Coauthor: Senator Alquist)
FEBRUARY 23, 2006
An act to add and repeal Article 1.5 (commencing with Section
104601) of Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 103 of the Health and
Safety Code, relating to nutrition.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2384, Leno Nutrition: Healthy Food Purchase Pilot Program.
Existing law requires the State Department of Health Services to
establish and implement, to the extent funds are available that are
other than state general funds, a "5 A Day--For Better Health"
program for the purpose of promoting public awareness of the need to
increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables as part of a
low-fat, high-fiber diet in order to improve health and prevent major
chronic diseases, including diet-related cancers.
This bill would require the department to develop a "Healthy Food
Purchase" pilot program to increase the sale and purchase of fresh
fruits and vegetables in low-income communities, as specified.
The bill would condition implementation of the program in any
fiscal year upon appropriation by the Legislature of federal or other
funds for that purpose, and would repeal these provisions on January
1, 2011.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The new federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans encourage all
Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables, and for most people,
the new recommended amount is double that in the previous guidelines.
(b) Clear and overwhelming evidence indicates that eating more
fruits and vegetables can help reduce the risk of diet-related
chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and
many cancers, as well as help to maintain a healthy body weight.
(c) Recent research in California confirms that, healthier foods,
including fresh fruits and vegetables, are less available and more
costly in low-income communities, and that the higher cost and lower
availability inhibit their purchase by food stamp recipients and
other low-income individuals.
(d) The State Department of Health Services is currently required
by state law to establish and implement the California 5 a Day--for
Better Health (5 a Day) program to increase consumption of fruits and
vegetables in order to improve health and prevent major chronic
diseases, including diet-related cancers.
(e) Current funding restrictions prohibit the 5 a Day program from
implementing important marketing and promotion activities in retail
and grocery stores where consumers make their food choices.
(f) The pilot program established pursuant to this act is aimed at
improving the health and nutrition of low-income Californians by
responding to the problem of limited local and affordable access to
fresh fruits and vegetables. The primary strategies tested in the
pilot program will be aimed at increasing the availability of fresh
fruits and vegetables at small neighborhood grocery stores, and
making fresh produce purchases a smart economic choice for those with
very limited food budgets.
SEC. 2. Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 104601) is added to
Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 103 of the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
Article 1.5. Healthy Food Purchase Pilot Program
104601. (a) The department, in consultation with the Department
of Food and Agriculture, shall develop a "Healthy Food Purchase"
pilot program to increase the sale and purchase of fresh fruits and
vegetables in low-income communities.
(b) The total number of counties included in the pilot program
shall not exceed seven.
(c) The department, in consultation with the Department of Food
and Agriculture, shall design the program to include the following
two components:
(1) Strategies aimed at small grocers in targeted low-income
neighborhoods to increase the offerings of fresh fruits and
vegetables in those communities. In selected pilot program
communities, the department shall provide targeted food retailers
with support or assistance to obtain refrigerated produce display
cases through the assessment of the feasibility of a variety of
financing methods including, but not limited to, leasing, lending,
small business and economic development support, and other
time-limited strategies. The department shall also provide technical
assistance to targeted retailers on the purchase, storage, marketing,
and display of fresh produce. The department shall use available
federal funds for this technical assistance, where appropriate.
(2) Strategies aimed at food stamp recipients to increase their
purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables by making those products more
affordable, including the development and implementation of
financial incentives. The department, in consultation with the State
Department of Social Services, shall seek any necessary federal
government approvals to allow use of the Food Stamp Electronic
Benefits Card, as provided in Chapter 3 (commencing with Section
10065) of Part 1 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code,
to provide those incentives, and to implement the pilot program.
(d) In developing the pilot program, the department shall include
all of the following:
(1) At least one county that is above the food stamp average
county participation.
(2) At least one county that is below the food stamp average
county participation.
(3) At least one county with high above-average rates of poverty,
food insecurity, or obesity.
(4) At least one urban county.
(5) At least one rural county.
(e) The department shall consider all of the following in choosing
counties to participate in the program.
(1) The level of need in the community.
(2) The size of the food stamp population.
(3) The need for geographic diversity.
(4) The availability of technology in targeted food retailers to
collect the data necessary to evaluate the pilot program.
(f) The department shall seek all necessary approvals to establish
the pilot program, and shall apply for available federal matching
funds to support the work of the pilot program.
(g) The department shall develop, in consultation with the United
States Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service, a
process for evaluating the effectiveness of the pilot program. The
evaluation shall examine the impact of the various strategies
employed in the pilot program on the purchase of fresh produce and on
any increase in retailer space devoted to the sale of fresh fruits
and vegetables, and the effect this has on retailer profitability.
The evaluation also shall test alternatives to the reliance on
uniform product codes for identification of fresh produce deemed
eligible for financial incentives. The department shall contract with
an independent external evaluator to conduct this evaluation. The
department shall make recommendations to the Legislature regarding
the continuation of the pilot program, and any state and federal
policy changes needed to support the goals of the pilot program.
(h) The department shall not implement this article in any fiscal
year unless an appropriation by the Legislature of federal or other
funds has been made, in the annual Budget Act or another statute, to
the department expressly for the purposes of implementing this
article for that fiscal year.
(i) This article shall remain in effect until January 1, 2011, and
as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is
enacted before January 1, 2011, deletes or extends that date.