BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1321|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1321
Author: Ting (D), et al.
Amended: 8/31/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE: 4-1, 7/7/15
AYES: Galgiani, Cannella, Pan, Wolk
NOES: Berryhill
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 61-16, 6/3/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program
SOURCE: Ecology Center
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
Public Health Institute
Roots of Change
DIGEST: This bill establishes the Nutrition Incentive Matching
Grant Program in the Office of Farm to Fork within the
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to
encourage the consumption and purchase of fresh fruits, nuts,
and vegetables by connecting farmers with food assistance
recipients.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
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1)Establishes the Office of Farm to Fork in 2014 within CDFA to
increase food access and the amount of agricultural products
available to underserved communities and schools in California
(Food and Agricultural Code § 49000 et seq.).
2)Establishes the California Healthy Food Financing Initiative
(CHFFI) in 2011 for the purpose of promoting healthy food
access to underserved communities. The CHFFI Council is
required to develop program parameters and financing options
to accomplish this goal (Health and Safety Code §104660 et
seq.).
3)Authorizes CDFA to regulate certified farmers' markets (CFM)
and other forms of direct marketing to ensure product quality
and to prevent fraud, deception, or misrepresentation in the
marketplace. Currently, there are nearly 800 CFMs in
California and 3,350 certified farmers selling directly to
consumers (Food and Agricultural Code §47000 et seq.).
4)Authorizes the State Department of Social Services to
administer the CalFresh Program, federally known as the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP; formerly Food
Stamp), to provide food assistance for eligible low-income
Californians.
This bill:
1)States findings and declarations related to market match
programs throughout California, the impact on local
agricultural economies, and the availability of federal funds
provided by the Farm Bill to help states create grant programs
that incentivize healthier eating by food assistance
recipients.
2)Establishes the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program
(Grant Program) in the Office of Farm to Fork to encourage the
consumption and purchase of fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables
by connecting farmers with food assistance recipients.
3)Defines "nutrition benefit client" to mean a person who
receives services or payments through WIC (Women, Infants and
Children), CalWORKS (California Work Opportunity and
Responsibility to Kids), CalFresh, WIC Farmers' Market
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Nutrition Act, Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, or
Supplemental Security Income.
4)Defines "qualified entity" to mean either (a) a CFM,
association of certified producers, or a nonprofit
organization representing certified producers and authorized
by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to
accept federal SNAP benefits; or (b) a small business that
sells California grown fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables that
is authorized to accept nutrition benefits.
5)Creates the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Account within
the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund to collect
matching funds from the federal Food Insecurity Nutrition
Incentive Grant Program and other public and private sources.
6)Requires that the grant program only provide grants upon the
deposit of sufficient funds, as specified, into its grant
account.
7)Requires the Office of Farm to Fork to establish minimum
standards, funding schedules, and procedures for awarding
grants in consultation with USDA and other stakeholders,
including the State Department of Public Health, State
Department of Social Services, organizations with expertise in
nutrition benefit programs, qualified small business owners,
and CFM operators.
8)Limits the allocation of Grant Program funds for qualified
small business consumer incentive programs to one-third of the
fund.
9)Requires CDFA to give grant funding priority to qualified
entities based on:
a) The service area and lack of consumer incentive
programs.
b) Community demographics such as the number of people
who qualify for food assistance, the prevalence of
diet-related illnesses, and access to fresh produce.
c) Demonstrated efficiency in administering a consumer
incentive program.
Background
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In a 2012 CDFA report to the legislature titled "Improving Food
Access in California," CDFA provided recommendations that
included improving the distribution of fresh produce, expanding
retail options for healthy food, helping low-income consumers
purchase food, and supporting nutritious school meals.
According to this report, the state can use existing
infrastructure and relationships with farmers and food
distributors to increase food access, and the state can
coordinate existing state and federal resources to target them
toward use in underserved communities.
(http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/exec/public_affairs/pdf/
ImprovingFoodAccessInCalifornia.pdf)
The federal Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill) was signed into
law on February 7, 2014, and provides $100 million over five
years for a new "Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive" grant
program, administered by USDA, to support organizations offering
bonus incentives to SNAP participants to purchase fruits and
vegetables. The program is not limited to locally grown produce
but does give preference to projects that involve direct
marketing from farmers to consumers, have a demonstrated track
record of implementing successful nutrition incentive programs,
provide local produce, and are located in underserved
communities.
Comments
Market Match Pilot Program. According to one of this bill's
co-sponsors, Roots of Change, they received four CDFA Specialty
Crop Block grants from 2009-2013 totaling $1.9 million to fund
the California Market Match Consortium's Market Match Pilot
Program. This program's goal was to increase access to fresh
fruits, nuts, and vegetables for consumers using food assistance
programs and to increase the promotion and marketing of
specialty crops at CFMs, farm stands, and community-supported
agriculture farms. This program operated in 23 counties at 150
markets in 2014 and has generated a six-fold return on
investment in farmers' market sales.
Is legislation needed? The federal government does not require
states to enact legislation in order to be eligible to receive
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funds from the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive grant
program. However, the co-sponsors of this bill argue that with
this legislation, California is better positioned to secure
available federal matching funds.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, CDFA indicates
that this bill could ultimately result in annual General Fund
costs potentially reaching the low millions of dollars (special
fund), some of which could be offset by federal funds. However,
CDFA would not be authorized to operate the program if
sufficient funds have not been appropriated.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/28/15)
Ecology Center (co-source)
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (co-source)
Public Health Institute (co-source)
Roots of Change (co-source)
Agricultural Commissioner of the City and County of San
Francisco
Agricultural Institute of Marin
Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association
AltaMed Health Services Corporation
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
American Heart Association/American Stroke Association
Ashland Cherryland Food Policy Council
Berkeley Food Institute
Building Healthy Communities: Long Beach
California Alliance of Farmers' Markets
California Association of Food Banks
California Black Health Network
California Center for Public Health Advocacy
California Certified Organic Farmers
California Commission on Aging
California Convergence
California Equity Leaders Network
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Food Policy Advocates
California Food Policy Council
California Hunger Action Coalition
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California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
California Partnership
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
California School Employees Association, AFL-CIO
California Women for Agriculture
Center for Food Safety
City of Maywood
City of Santa Monica
City of Santa Monica's Farmers Market Program
Coastside Farmers' Markets
Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Community Food and Justice Coalition
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
Courage Campaign
CUESA
Cultiva la Salud
EnrichLA
Farm Fatales
The Farmers Guild
Feeding America San Diego
First 5 LA
Food Chain Workers Alliance
Food for People, Inc., the Food Bank for Humboldt County
Hunger Action Los Angeles
Hunger Advocacy Network
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles
Junior Leagues of California State Public Affairs Committee
Latino Health Alliance
Long Beach Alliance for Food and Fitness
Long Beach Time Exchange
Los Angeles Community Action Network
Los Angeles Food Policy Council
Madera County Agricultural Commissioner
Natural Resources Defense Council
North Coast Growers' Association
Nutrition and Fitness Collaborative of the Central Coast
ONEgeneration
Orange County Food Access Coalition
Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association
Plumas-Sierra Community Food Council
PolicyLink
Prevention Institute
Project Angel Food
Sacramento Native American Health Center, Inc.
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San Diego Food System Alliance
San Diego Hunger Coalition
San Francisco Food Security Task Force
San Francisco Unified School District
San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance
Santa Barbara Food Alliance
Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commissioner
Sebastopol Farmers Market
SF-Marin Food Bank
Slow Food California
Social Justice Learning Institute
Sprouts of Promise
SPUR
St. Anthony Foundation
Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity Environments
Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles
Sustainable Economics Law Center
Thai Community Development Center
UC San Diego, Department of Pediatrics Center for Community
Health
UFCW Western States Council
United Way of Kern County
Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College
Volunteers of East Los Angeles
Wellington Square Certified Farmers Market
Western Center on Law and Poverty
Western Growers Association
Westside Food Bank
Women Organizing Resources, Knowledge and Services
The Yolo County Ag & Food Alliance
Yolo County Board of Supervisors
Youth Policy Institute
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/28/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "AB 1321 builds
off the success of California Market Match, a five-year-old
nutrition incentive program that has operated at over 140
farmers' markets across the state. The program works by
'matching' or doubling the amount of nutrition benefits, such as
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the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that
families can spend at farmers' markets in order to incentivize
them to purchase fresh, locally-grown fruits and vegetables.
"In order to best position local programs to receive these [Farm
Bill nutrition incentive] federal grants, AB 1321 creates a
state Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program to apply for
federal funds and award them to local Market Match programs with
a proven record of success in areas with high prevalence of
diabetes and obesity. Establishing a state framework to oversee
funding of Market Match programs would leverage state resources
to streamline local program administration, and expand Market
Match programs across a more equitable cross-section of
communities to ensure that more Californians can enjoy the
unparalleled bounty of our state's agriculture. By increasing
access to healthy food, we can alleviate poverty and food
insecurity and stimulate economic growth in our communities."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 61-16, 6/3/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown,
Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier,
Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell,
Olsen, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Santiago, Mark Stone, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NOES: Travis Allen, Bigelow, Brough, Beth Gaines, Harper,
Jones, Kim, Mathis, Mayes, Melendez, Obernolte, Patterson,
Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chang, Hadley, Thurmond
Prepared by:Anne Megaro / AGRI. / (916) 651-1508
8/31/15 12:47:49
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