BILL NUMBER: AB 459 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 18, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Mitchell
FEBRUARY 19, 2013
An act to amend Section 11005.4 of, and to add Section 11005.8 to,
the Government Code, and to amend Section 12401 of , and to
add Section 10300.1 to, the Public Contract Code, relating
to public contracts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 459, as amended, Mitchell. Public contracts: healthy and
sustainable food.
Existing law regulates various aspects of the provision of food
and beverages in vending machines, including requiring a vendor that
operates or maintains a vending machine on designated state property
to offer food and beverages in the vending machine that meet accepted
nutritional guidelines, as defined, in accordance with certain
content percentages. Existing law governing contracting between state
agencies and private contractors sets forth requirements for the
procurement of supplies, materials, equipment, and services by state
agencies and sets forth the various responsibilities of the
Department of General Services and other state agencies in overseeing
and implementing state contracting procedures and policies.
This bill would require that at least 50% of the food offered by a
vendor in a vending machine on state property, as defined, meet
accepted nutritional guidelines by January 1, 2015. The bill would
then require 75% compliance with accepted nutritional guidelines by
January 1, 2016, and 100% compliance by January 1, 2017. On and after
January 1, 2016, the bill would also require that 100% of beverages
offered by a vendor in a vending machine on state property also meet
the accepted nutritional guidelines. The bill would revise the
definition of accepted nutritional guidelines for this purpose.
The bill would also require, on and after January 1, 2015, or upon
expiration of an existing contract, whichever occurs later, any food
or beverages sold in a state-owned or state-leased building to meet
the standard criteria for food and nutrition guidelines for
concessions as determined under the United States General Services
Administration's Health and Sustainability Guidelines for Federal
Concessions and Vending Operations.
The bill would also require the Department of General
Services, when approving contracts for the purchase of food or
beverages sold in any state-owned or state-leased building, to give
preference to, and not include disincentives for, food or beverage
items that meet certain criteria, as specified, and would require the
Department of General Services to provide state agencies with the
United States General Services Administration's Health and
Sustainability Guidelines for Federal Concessions and Vending
Operations encourage vendors that operate or maintain
vending machines on, and vendors of food concessions or cafeterias
in, state-owned or state-leased property and buildings to sell food
and beverage items that meet specified criteria .
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 11005.4 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
11005.4. (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms
have the following meanings:
(1) "Accepted nutritional guidelines" as used in this section
means the following:
(A) Beverages that are the following or meet the following
standards:
(i) Drinking water, including carbonated water products without
added caloric sweeteners.
(ii) Milk that is 2 percent, 1 percent, or fat-free with no added
caloric sweeteners.
(iii) Soy, rice, almond, or other plant-derived nondairy milk
beverages without added caloric sweeteners.
(iv) One hundred percent fruit juice.
(v) Fruit-based drinks that are composed of no less than 50
percent fruit juice, limited to 12-ounce containers, and containing
no added caloric sweeteners.
(vi) Unsweetened or artificially sweetened beverages that contain
no calories.
(vii) One hundred percent vegetable juice with less than 200
milligrams of sodium per serving.
(B) Food that meets the following standards:
(i) Not more than 35 percent of its total calories are from fat.
This clause shall not apply to legumes, nuts, nut butters, seeds,
eggs, nonfried vegetables, or cheese packaged for individual sale.
(ii) Not more than 10 percent of its total calories are from
saturated fats.
(iii) Not more than 35 percent of its total weight is from sugar
and no more than 10 grams of total sugars in an individual snack
item. This clause does not apply to fresh, frozen, or canned in its
own juice or water fruits with no added caloric sweetener, and fresh,
frozen, or canned vegetables with low sodium.
(iv) Contains zero grams of trans fat as labeled.
(v) Individual snack items shall not exceed 200 calories.
(vi) Individual snack items shall not exceed 230 milligrams of
sodium per serving.
(vii) Individual entrée items shall not exceed 500 calories per
serving.
(viii) Individual entrée items shall not exceed 480 milligrams of
sodium per serving.
(2) "Added caloric sweetener" means sugars and syrups that are
added to foods during processing or preparation that also add
calories to the item, including, but not limited to, sugar, fructose,
and high fructose corn syrup, but does not include the natural sugar
or sugars that are contained in fruit juice or milk that is a
naturally occurring component of the beverage.
(3) "Individual entrée item" means food generally regarded as the
primary food in a meal and that contains either:
(A) Two or more of the following groups: meat or meat alternatives
such as tofu or other similar alternatives, grains or bread, or
vegetables or fruit that are eaten together, including, but not
limited to, sandwiches, pizza, hamburger on a bun, burrito, chef's
salad, fruit and cheese platter, baked potato with chili, or chicken
stir-fry.
(B) A meat or meat alternative alone, such as a sausage patty,
eggs, and chicken nuggets. Nuts, nut butters, seeds, cheese, and
yogurt served alone shall not be included for purposes of this
subparagraph.
(4) "Individual snack item" means a food item that does not meet
the definition of an "individual entrée item."
(5) "State property" as used in this section means all real
property, or part thereof, used for state purposes and either owned,
leased, rented, or otherwise controlled by, and occupied by, any
state agency.
(6) "Vending machine" means any mechanical device the operation of
which depends upon the insertion of a coin or other thing
representative of value and that dispenses or vends a food product or
beverage, but does not include any mechanical device that is unable
to dispense any food or beverage meeting accepted nutritional
guidelines without physical alteration or any mechanical device that
solely dispenses or vends hot beverages or ice cream.
(b) A vendor that operates or maintains a vending machine on state
property shall do all of the following:
(1) Until January 1, 2015, offer at least 35 percent of the food
in a vending machine that meets accepted nutritional guidelines
established by this section.
(2) On and after January 1, 2015, offer at least 50 percent of the
food in a vending machine that meets the accepted nutritional
guidelines established by this section.
(3) On and after January 1, 2016, offer at least 75 percent of the
food in a vending machine that meets the accepted nutritional
guidelines established by this section.
(4) On and after January 1, 2017, offer 100 percent of the food in
a vending machine that meets the accepted nutritional guidelines
established by this section.
(5) (A) Until January 1, 2016, offer at least one-third of the
beverages in a vending machine that meets accepted nutritional
guidelines. A separate one-third of the beverages offered in the
vending machine shall either meet accepted nutritional guidelines or
be flavored milk, beverages containing less than 20 calories per
12-ounce serving, or beverages that are composed of at least 50
percent fruit juice that may contain noncaloric sweetener. The
remaining one-third of the beverages offered in the vending machine
may be any beverage allowed by law.
(B) On and after January 1, 2016, offer 100 percent of beverages
that meet the accepted nutritional guidelines established by this
section.
(c) If a vendor operates or maintains two or more vending machines
that are located next to each other, the provisions of subdivision
(b) may be met by calculating the percentage of the total food and
beverages offered in all of the adjacent machines.
(d) A vendor that operates or maintains a vending machine on
state-owned or state-leased property is encouraged to do both of the
following:
(1) Sell food or beverage items grown, packaged, or produced
within the State of California.
(2) Sell food or beverage items that meet the sustainability
guidelines set forth in the United States Department of Health and
Human Services and the United States General Services Administration'
s Health and Sustainability Guidelines for Federal Concessions and
Vending Operations.
SEC. 2. Section 11005.8 is added to the Government Code, to read:
11005.8. (a) On and after January 1, 2015,
or upon expiration of an existing contract, whichever occurs later,
food or beverages sold in any state-owned or state-leased building at
food concessions and cafeterias shall meet at least the standard
criteria for food and nutrition guidelines for concessions as
determined by the United States Department of Health and Human
Services and the United States General Services Administration's
Health and Sustainability Guidelines for Federal Concessions and
Vending Operations.
(b) Vendors of food concessions or cafeterias in any state-owned
or state-leased building are encouraged to do both of the following:
(1) Sell food or beverage items grown, packaged, or produced
within the State of California.
(2) Sell food or beverage items that meet the sustainability
guidelines set forth in the United States Department of Health and
Human Services and the United States General Services Administration'
s Health and Sustainability Guidelines for Federal Concessions and
Vending Operations.
SEC. 3. Section 10300.1 is added to the Public
Contract Code, to read:
10300.1. (a) When approving contracts for the purchase of food or
beverages to be sold in any state-owned or state-leased building at
food concessions, cafeterias, or vending operations, the Department
of General Services shall give preference to purchasing food or
beverage items grown, packaged, or produced within the State of
California.
(b) When approving contracts for the purchase of food or beverages
to be sold in any state-owned or state-leased building for food
concessions, cafeterias, or vending operations, the Department of
General Services shall give preference to purchasing food or beverage
items that meet the sustainability guidelines for general food as
determined by the United States Department of Health and Human
Services and the United States General Services Administration's
Health and Sustainability Guidelines for Federal Concessions and
Vending Operations.
(c) When approving contracts for the purchase of food or beverages
to be sold in any state-owned or state-leased building at food
concessions, cafeterias, or vending operations, the Department of
General Services shall not include provisions that provide a
disincentive for the purchase of food or beverage items that are
grown, packaged, or produced within the State of California or for
food items that meet the sustainability guidelines in subdivision
(b).
SEC. 4. SEC. 3. Section 12401 of the
Public Contract Code is amended to read:
12401. The Department of General Services, in consultation with
the California Environmental Protection Agency, members of the
public, industry, and public health and environmental organizations,
shall provide state agencies with information and assistance
regarding environmentally preferable purchasing, including, but not
limited to, the following:
(a) The promotion of environmentally preferable purchasing.
(b) The development and implementation of a strategy to increase
environmentally preferable purchasing. This may include the
development of statewide policies, guidelines, programs, and
regulations.
(c) The coordination with other state and federal agencies, task
forces, workgroups, regulatory efforts, research and data collection
efforts, and other programs and services relating to environmentally
preferable purchasing.
(d) The development and implementation, to the extent fiscally
feasible, of training programs designed to instill the importance and
value of environmentally preferable purchasing.
(e) The development, to the extent fiscally feasible, of an
environmentally preferable purchasing best practices manual for state
purchasing employees.
(f) The United States Department of Health and Human Services and
the United States General Services Administration's Health and
Sustainability Guidelines for Federal Concessions and Vending
Operations to assist in developing practices to promote the
acquisition of healthy, sustainable, and environmentally preferable
purchasing.