BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2635|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2635
Author: Committee on Agriculture
Introduced:2/19/16
Vote: 21
SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE: 5-0, 6/21/16
AYES: Galgiani, Cannella, Berryhill, Pan, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/11/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 5/5/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Public health: food access
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill extends the operation and repeal dates for
provisions of the California Healthy Food Financing Initiative
until July 1, 2023, and January 1, 2024, respectively.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes the California Healthy Food Financing Initiative
(CHFFI) to expand access to nutritious foods in underserved
urban and rural communities and to eliminate food deserts in
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California.
2)Establishes the CHFFI Council to develop financing options and
program parameters to accomplish the purpose of the
initiative.
3)Requires the California Department of Food and Agriculture
(CDFA), by July 1, 2012, to prepare recommendations regarding
actions that need to be taken to promote food access in
California.
4)Establishes the CHFFI Fund which is comprised of federal,
state, philanthropic, and private funds, for the purpose of
expanding access to healthy foods in underserved communities.
This bill extends the operation and repeal dates for provisions
of the CHFFI until July 1, 2023 and January 1, 2024,
respectively.
Background
The CHFFI was established 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.).
The CDFA is required to develop recommendations for actions to
be taken to promote food access. In a 2012 report titled
"Improving Food Access in California," recommendations include:
Improving the distribution of fresh produce
Expanding retail options for healthy food
Helping low-income consumers purchase food
Supporting nutritious school meals
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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/ImprovingFoodAcce
ssInCalifornia.pdf)
Comments
Need for this bill. Current efforts are underway by a variety
of public and private entities to achieve the goal of increasing
food access. It has been argued that CDFA has the expertise,
relationships, and infrastructure to further these efforts
through a collaborative statewide program. According to the
2012 CDFA report previously referenced, "Government and private
efforts to increase food access are already underway at the
federal, state, and local levels. In order to harmonize these
efforts and avoid duplication, the state can take an active role
in coordinating efforts and sharing information among the
various entities working to increase food access. CHFFI can
serve to facilitate this coordination and make sure communities
have partners at the table and that they are connected to the
appropriate funding sources."
Food deserts. Food deserts are generally defined as poor
inner-city neighborhoods and rural communities where residents
live far from the closest grocery store or supermarket. USDA
defines this distance as greater than a mile for urban
communities and greater than 10 miles for rural communities,
with exceptions for physical barriers (e.g. highways,
waterways). Residents within a food desert do not have access to
healthy foods and are limited to less-healthy, and sometimes
more expensive, alternatives available at the nearest
convenience store or fast-food restaurant. Additionally,
research shows that residents of underserved communities have
higher rates of diet-related diseases, such as obesity and
diabetes.
Federal and state HFFI: In 2010, the Obama Administration
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established the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) to
support projects that increase access to healthy, affordable
food for communities located within food deserts. With over
$400 million in funding, the initiative will work to eliminate
food deserts within seven years. With coordination among the
U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services
(HHS), and the Treasury, HFFI increases healthy food access by
developing and supporting grocery stores, small retailers,
corner stores, and farmers markets that provide healthy foods.
As of 2015, the total amount of funding awarded under the
Community Economic Development Program within HHS is over $44.5
million. The 2014 Farm Bill also provided $125 million for
HFFI, and the Treasury awarded $22 million in HFFI financial
assistance to Community Development Financial Institutions that
finance businesses providing healthy food options. Other
assistance includes federal tax credits ($250 million),
below-market-rate loans, and grants.
Additionally, HFFI programs have been successful in
Pennsylvania, where the initiative first originated, and in New
York.
State funding. To date, California has not provided state funds
to support CHFFI. This bill extends the sunset date for this
initiative, allowing more time for financial support to be
identified and for the program to have a significant impact in
California.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this bill
would result in a cost pressure for the Legislature to fund the
CHHFI. The amount is unknown, but likely would be minimally in
the hundreds of thousands of dollars (General Fund or special
fund).
SUPPORT: (Verified8/12/16)
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California Food Policy Advocates
California Retailers Association
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/12/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "CHFFI is
intended to increase access to healthy and nutritious foods. The
law is mirrored after successful HFF Programs in the states of
Pennsylvania and New York and addresses the issue by encouraging
the active pursuit of opportunities to increase the number of
grocery stores, farm stands, farmers' markets, direct farm to
institutions and consumer markets, and community gardens in
underserved urban and rural communities. As CHFFI is set to
expire in July of 2017, this bill extends it till July 2023."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 5/5/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier,
Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey,
Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes,
McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte,
O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Beth Gaines
Prepared by:Anne Megaro / AGRI. / (916) 651-1508
8/15/16 20:30:02
**** END ****
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