BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 581
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 581 (John A. Pérez)
As Amended May 27, 2011
Majority vote
AGRICULTURE 9-0 HEALTH 18-0
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|Ayes:|Galgiani, Valadao, Bill |Ayes:|Monning, Logue, Ammiano, |
| |Berryhill, Hill, Ma, | |Atkins, Bonilla, Eng, |
| |Mendoza, Olsen, Perea, | |Garrick, Gordon, Hayashi, |
| |Yamada | |Bonnie Lowenthal, |
| | | |Mansoor, Mitchell, |
| | | |Nestande, Pan, V. Manuel |
| | | |Pérez, Silva, Smyth, |
| | | |Williams |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, | | |
| |Blumenfield, Bradford, | | |
| |Charles Calderon, Campos, | | |
| |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, | | |
| |Hall, Hill, Lara, | | |
| |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, | | |
| |Solorio, Wagner | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Creates the California Healthy Food Financing
Initiative (CHFFI) and fund for the purpose of expanding access
to healthy foods in underserved communities. Requires, by July
1, 2012, specified agencies to prepare recommended actions to be
taken to promote food access within California. This authority
remains in effect until January 1, 2015. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Makes various legislative findings and declarations, including
that opportunities for greater access to food should be
actively pursued and fostered.
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2)Titles this Act as CHFFI and requires, by July 1, 2012, the
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), in
consultation with the State Department of Public Health (DPH)
and the State Department of Social Services (DSS), to prepare
recommendations to the Legislature, regarding actions that
need to be taken to promote food access in the state.
3)Permits the creation of an advisory group to assist in
developing recommendations and specifies it's make-up to
include representatives from the Legislature, food policy
advocates, grocery and financial industries representatives,
food systems researchers, agricultural representatives, and
nonprofit organizations with food access expertise.
4)Permits CDFA, in consultation with DPH, DSS, and the State
Treasurer (Treasurer), to coordinate efforts to maximize
funding opportunities provided by the federal 2010 Healthy
Food Financing Initiative (HFFI).
5)Requires CDFA, in consultation with DPH, DSS, and the
Treasurer, to implement CHFFI, modeled after the HFFI, and
intends the CHFFI to expand access to nutritious foods in
underserved urban and rural areas and eliminate food deserts
within seven years.
6)Creates the CHFFI Fund, to be comprised of federal, state,
private, and philanthropic funds, and requires them to be used
to expand access to healthy foods in underserved communities
and directs funds to be leveraged with other funding sources.
7)Sunsets this Act on January 1, 2015, unless future statutes
delete or extend that date.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, given the size of the state and its large number of
food deserts, a significant food financing initiative would
likely cost tens of millions of dollars. The state of
Pennsylvania initially invested $30 million over a three year
period in their healthy food initiative. California is close to
three times the size of Pennsylvania. The bill requires that the
initiative be implemented using a diverse mix of funding
including federal, state, philanthropic and private resources.
COMMENTS : An increasing problem within urban and rural
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communities in California, and nation-wide, is the access to
grocery stores and the availability of fresh produce, creating
what is called "food deserts." A food desert is a geographic
area with limited access to affordable, quality, and nutritious
foods.
In February of 2010, the Obama Administration (Administration)
announced details of HFFI and committed over $400 million to the
program, which will help bring grocery stores and other healthy
food retailers to underserved urban and rural communities across
the nation.
The HFFI is a partnership between the federal Departments of the
Treasury, USDA, and Health and Human Services. HFFI will
promote a range of interventions that expand access to
nutritious foods, including developing and equipping grocery
stores and other small businesses and retailers selling healthy
food in communities that currently lack these options.
Residents of these communities are often found in economically
distressed areas, and are typically served by fast food
restaurants and convenience stores that offer little or no fresh
produce. Lack of healthy, affordable food options can lead to
higher levels of obesity and other diet-related diseases, such
as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
Through this new multi-year HFFI, and by engaging with the
private sector, the Administration intends to work toward
eliminating food deserts across the country within seven years.
By creating the CHFFI program and permitting CDFA to coordinate
the effort in its development, should provide a better
opportunity for California to obtain federal funds made
available for this purposes.
The author intends this bill should be modeled after the HFFI
and to use a wide variety of funding sources that can be
leveraged in order to accomplish the goal of elimination of food
deserts.
Please see policy Assembly Agriculture Committee's analysis for
a more comprehensive discussion of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Jim Collin / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084
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