BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                             Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
                            2015 - 2016  Regular  Session

          SB 1169 (McGuire) - Pupil nutrition:  competitive food service  
          and standards
          
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          |Version: April 7, 2016          |Policy Vote: ED. 8 - 0          |
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          |Urgency: No                     |Mandate: Yes                    |
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          |Hearing Date: April 18, 2016    |Consultant: Jillian Kissee      |
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          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.


          
          Bill  
          Summary:  This bill establishes the Healthy Food, Healthy  
          Student Act.  It makes numerous changes to school nutrition  
          standards for competitive food and beverages to better align to  
          the federal Smart Snacks in Schools regulations.  

          According to the California Department of Education's website,  
          competitive foods and beverages are sold to students on school  
          campus outside of, and in competition with, the federally  
          reimbursable meal programs (e.g. á la carte items or those sold  
          in vending machines, fundraisers, and school stores). 


          Fiscal  
          Impact:  
                 Potentially significant reimbursable mandate costs  
               related to the requirement for every public school to make  
               the local school wellness policy available to the public on  







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               an annual basis. (Proposition 98)

                 The majority of the provisions in this bill make changes  
               to local authority and program requirements implemented at  
               the local level, for participating schools, school  
               districts, and county offices of education.  These changes  
               are unlikely to drive significant new cost to the state.   
               They may result in additional costs to schools, but are  
               conditions of their participation in a program for which  
               they receive federal funding.


          Background:  The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 authorizes funding  
          and sets policy for the United States Department of  
          Agriculture's core child nutrition programs: the National School  
          Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, the Special  
          Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children,  
          the Summer Food Service Program, and the Child and Adult Care  
          Food Program.  The accompanying regulations are known as the  
          Smart Snacks in Schools provisions and were adopted in 2014-15.   
          This bill applies only to competitive food and beverages, and  
          makes conforming changes to better align with federal rules and  
          regulations. (United States Code, Title 42, § 1751-1779; Code of  
          Federal Regulations, Title 7, § 210.11)

          Current state law outlines the parameters in which competitive  
          foods and beverages may be sold to students in elementary,  
          middle, and high schools, including the time of day they may be  
          sold, the specific types of foods and beverages permitted, and  
          the nutrition standards that they must meet.  (Education Code §  
          49430 - 49434)

          The federal Child Nutrition and Women, Infants, and Children's  
          Reauthorization Act of 2004 requires each local education agency  
          participating in a federal meal reimbursement program to  
          establish a local school wellness policy, as specified.  (United  
          States Code, Title 42, § 1758b)  Current state law requires  
          every public school to post the school district's nutrition and  
          physical activity policies, in public view within all school  
          cafeterias or other central eating areas. (Education Code §  
          49432)


          Proposed Law:  








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          This bill makes numerous changes to school nutrition standards  
          for competitive food and beverages to better align to the  
          federal Smart Snacks in Schools regulations.  In addition, this  
          bill requires public schools to make the local school wellness  
          policy available to the public on an annual basis.  
          Specifically, this bill:


                 Changes the type of competitive foods that may be sold  
               as well as the time of day that they may be sold.


                 Provides additional exemptions to nutrition standards  
               applicable to elementary, middle, and high schools.


                 Increases the calories allowed for competitive foods  
               sold to students, from 175 to 200 for elementary schools,  
               and decreases the allowable calories for middle and high  
               schools, from 250 to 200.


                 Adds a requirement that at each middle or high school, a  
               competitive entrée sold by the district food service  
               department on the same day, or the day after it is served  
               on the federal National School Lunch Program or federal  
               School Breakfast Program menu meet certain standards,  
               regarding calorie, fat, trans fat, and portion size limits.  
                Entrées sold after this time period must meet similar  
               standards as well as additional standards related to  
               sodium, sugar, and saturated fat limits.


                 Amends requirements for allowable competitive beverages.  
                For example, the bill specifically prohibits electrolyte  
               replacement beverages of a certain size and sugar level,  
               but allows other beverage options for high school students  
               that must satisfy certain caloric and size requirements.   




          Related  
          Legislation:  Chapter 706, Statutes of 2014 (AB 626, Skinner)  








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          made numerous changes to school nutrition standards, primarily  
          to conform to the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.  AB 626  
          also made changes to local authority and allowable uses of  
          cafeteria funds, as specified.


          Staff  
          Comments:  Most of the amendments included in this bill conform  
          to the federal Smart Snacks in Schools provisions.  To the  
          extent provisions in this bill exceed federal law and  
          regulations the state could be vulnerable to a reimbursable  
          state mandate.
          This bill requires every public school to inform the public  
          about the content of the school's local school wellness policy  
          established pursuant to the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids  
          Act of 2010, and make the local school wellness policy and any  
          updates to the policy available to the public on an annual  
          basis.  The latter amendment conforms to the Proposed Rules for  
          Local School Wellness Policy Implementation under the Healthy,  
          Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.  According to the California  
          Department of Education's website, the proposed rules would  
          mandate local educational agencies that participate in federally  
          reimbursable meal programs to meet expanded requirements related  
          to the local school wellness policy, one of which is for local  
          educational agencies to make information about the plan  
          implementation available to the public on a periodic basis.   
          However, because the proposed rule is not yet finalized, this  
          would be a state-level mandate if this bill were enacted and  
          could be interpreted by the Commission on State Mandates to  
          impose a reimbursable state mandate if a successful claim was  
          filed.  


          Local educational agencies could fulfill this requirement in a  
          number of ways including through the district's website, through  
          school board meetings, sending information home with students,  
          or posting information at school.  Costs would depend upon how  
          local educational agencies implement this requirement and what  
          would be approved by the Commission on State Mandates as a  
          reimbursable activity.  If every public school spent staff time  
          at a rate of $50 for one hour to fulfill this requirement per  
          year, statewide costs could be around $500,000.  If the  
          Commission on State Mandates determines this requirement to be  
          reimbursable, it would create pressure to increase to the K-12  








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          mandate block grant.




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