BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 581
Author: John A. Pérez (D), et al.
Amended: 8/30/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/21/11
AYES: Cannella, Rubio, Berryhill, Evans, La Malfa, Vargas
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wolk
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 6-1, 7/6/11
AYES: Hernandez, Blakeslee, De León, DeSaulnier, Rubio,
Wolk
NOES: Anderson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Strickland, Alquist
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-1, 8/25/11
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Emmerson, Lieu, Pavley, Price,
Steinberg
NOES: Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 6/1/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Public health: food access
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill (1) establishes, until July 1, 2017,
the California Healthy Food Financing Initiative for the
purpose of expanding access to healthy foods in underserved
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communities, (2) requires the Secretary of the Department
of Food and Agriculture (DFA), by July 1, 2012, to prepare
recommendations regarding actions to be taken to promote
food access in the state, (3) establishes the California
Healthy Foods Financing Initiative Council and requires the
Council to implement the Initiative, (4) requires the DFA
to establish an advisory group, as specified, (5) creates
the California Healthy Food Financing Initiative Fund, and
makes legislative findings and declarations.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Requires, until January 1, 2013, the Department of
Public Health (DPH), in conjunction with the DFA, to
develop a "Healthy Food Purchase" pilot program, in no
more than seven counties, to increase the sale and
purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables in low-income
communities, as specified.
2. Requires DPH to develop a process for evaluating the
effectiveness of the pilot, and contract with an
independent external evaluator to conduct the
evaluation.
3. Specifies that DPH shall apply for available federal
matching funds to support the pilot, and that no General
Fund monies shall be used to fund the program.
This bill:
1. Establishes the California Healthy Food Financing
Initiative (CHFFI) until July 1, 2017, for the purpose
of expanding access to healthy foods in underserved
communities.
2. Requires the Secretary of DFA, by July 1, 2012, to
prepare recommendations regarding actions to be taken to
promote food access in the state.
3. Establishes the California Healthy Foods Financing
Initiative Council, within the Office of the State
Treasurer, and requires the Council to implement the
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Initiative. Specifies the membership and duties of the
Council:
Membership :
The Treasurer or his/her designee.
The Secretary of DFA or his/her designee.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services or
his/her designee.
The Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development
or his/her
designee.
Duties :
Develop financing options using public or private
moneys and resources, to support access to healthy
foods for all Californians.
Develop program parameters, including, but not
limited to, all of the following: (1) defining
eligible entities for participation, (2) developing
minimum eligibility thresholds for participation, and
(3) establishing minimum and maximum levels of
financial assistance.
Partner with federal, state, or local government
agencies, nonprofit organizations, and philanthropic
programs to further the purposes of the initiative.
Review recommendations of the advisory group,
established pursuant to Section 104662.
Provide updates to the Legislature as requested.
4. Requires DFA to establish an advisory group, not to
exceed 21 members, as specified, to assist agencies in
complying with requirements of subdivision (a).
5. Creates the California Healthy Food Financing Initiative
Fund comprised of federal, state, philanthropic, and
private funds to expand access to healthy foods in
underserved communities and, to the extent practicable,
to leverage other funding, as specified.
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6. Makes findings and declarations regarding access to
healthy food items in "food desert" communities.
The provisions of this bill sunset July 1, 2017, unless a
later enacted statute, enacted before January 1, 2018,
deletes or extends that date.
Background
The author introduced this bill to increase access to
healthy and nutritious foods to underserved urban and rural
communities in California. Known as "food deserts,"
regions of California with poor access to healthy food
generally have a higher incidence of certain types of
diseases such as diabetes, cancer, obesity, heart disease,
and premature death. This bill brings together DFA and
other state agencies to maximize the impact of CHFFI and
leverage funding from federal and other sources to improve
the health of low-income Californians by increasing access
to nutritious food.
Food deserts . A food desert is described as a geographic
area with limited access to affordable, quality, and
nutritious foods. 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. The
Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, commonly known
as the Farm Bill, required the United States Department of
Agriculture to study food deserts. Findings from that
study include:
Of all United States households, 2.3 million (2.2
percent) live more than a mile from a supermarket and do
not have access to a vehicle. An additional 3.4 million
households (3.2 percent) live between one-half to one
mile from a supermarket and do not have access to a
vehicle.
Area-based measures of access show that 23.5 million
people live in low-income areas (areas where more than 40
percent of the population has an income at or below 200
percent of federal poverty thresholds) that are more than
1 mile from a supermarket or large grocery store.
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However, not all of these 23.5 million people have low
incomes. If estimates are restricted to consider only
low-income people in low-income areas, then 11.5 million
people (4.1 percent of the United States population) live
in low-income areas more than one mile from a
supermarket.
Data on time-use and travel mode show that people living
in low-income areas with limited access to healthy food
spend significantly more time (19.5 minutes) traveling to
a grocery store than the national average (15 minutes).
However, 93 percent of those who live in low-income areas
with limited access traveled to the grocery store in a
vehicle they or another household member drove.
A subset of food deserts are areas increasingly referred to
as "food swamps." A "food swamp" is a defined geographic
area where the overabundance of high-energy foods (for
example, caloric snacks sold at convenience stores or high
fat, high caloric foods sold at fast food outlets)
overwhelms the healthy food options.
Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) . In February
2010, the Obama Administration released details of an over
$400 million HFFI, which will help bring grocery stores and
other healthy food retailers to underserved urban and rural
communities across the nation. HFFI is a partnership
between the federal Departments of the Treasury,
Agriculture, and Health and Human Services. HFFI seeks to
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. These communities are often found in
economically distressed areas, and their residents are
typically served by fast food restaurants and convenience
stores that offer little or no fresh produce.
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. The first year of funding proposes to leverage
enough investments to begin expanding healthy foods options
into as many as one-fifth of the nation's food deserts, and
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create thousands of jobs in urban and rural communities
across the nation.
This Initiative is modeled after the National Healthy Food
Financing Initiative, which is intended to expand access to
nutritious foods in underserved, urban, and rural
communities and eliminate food deserts across the United
States within seven years.
Prior Legislation
AB 2720 (John A. Perez, 2009-10 Session), which was
substantially similar to this bill, was vetoed by Governor
Schwarzenegger. His veto message stated: "While my
Administration shares the same goals as the author when it
comes to promoting healthy and affordable food access for
low-income communities in California, the Healthy Food
Financing Initiative has not yet been acted on by Congress.
Unless and until those important federal funding details
are known, this bill is both premature and unnecessary."
The basis for the Governor's veto of similar legislation
last year was that Congress had not enacted the HFFI and
the federal funding details were not yet known. In his
fiscal year 2012 Budget Proposal, President Obama requested
$330M for the HFFI, but Congress has yet to finalize action
on this proposal.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
Unknown, with latest amendments.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/30/11)
American Heart Association
California Catholic Conference
California Center for Rural Policy at Humboldt State
University
California District of the American Academy of Pediatrics
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Food Policy Advocates
California Medical Association
California Nurses Association
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
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California Physical Therapy Association
California Primary Care Association
California Retailers Association
California State Association of Counties
California State Grange
California State PTA
California Women for Agriculture
Children NOW
Children's Defense Fund - California
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations
Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County
County Health Executives Association of California
County of Santa Clara
First 5 LA
Junior League of Los Angeles
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
PolicyLink
Western Growers
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California Catholic Conference
believes that access to food is a basic human right and
that lack of access to healthy foods can result in hunger,
higher levels of obesity and other diet-related diseases.
The Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County
(CCALAC) claims to be committed to both health care and
healthy communities, and believes that access to healthy
foods is too limited in many California communities,
specifically low-income and underserved areas. The CCALAC
believes that this bill directly impacts clinic and health
center patients as it would promote and potentially
increase access to healthy foods in these communities.
The California Nurses Association (CNA) believes this bill
positions California to receive federal dollars to finance
healthy food options. The CNA claims that nurses are on
the front lines of providing care to patients who suffer
from conditions like diabetes, cancer, and obesity, and
know firsthand about the importance of preventing their
onset through healthy diets.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 6/1/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
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Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman,
Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill,
Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell,
Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan,
Perea, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams,
Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Garrick, Gorell, Jeffries, V. Manuel
Pérez
MEL:mw 8/30/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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