BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2384|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2384
Author: Leno (D), et al
Amended: 8/7/06 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 5-3, 6/21/06
AYES: Ortiz, Alquist, Chesbro, Figueroa, Kuehl
NOES: Runner, Aanestad, Cox
NO VOTE RECORDED: Maldonado
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-5, 8/17/06
AYES: Murray, Alarcon, Alquist, Escutia, Florez, Ortiz,
Romero, Torlakson
NOES: Aanestad, Ashburn, Battin, Dutton, Poochigian
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-29, 5/31/06 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Nutrition: Healthy Food Purchase Pilot Program
SOURCE : California Food Policy Advocates
DIGEST : This bill establishes a Healthy Food Purchase
pilot program (pilot program) to increase the sale and
purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables in low-income
communities.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
CONTINUED
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1. Requires the Department of Health Services (DHS) to
establish and implement, to the extent funds other than
state general funds are available, a "5 A Day-For Better
Health" program to promote public awareness of the need
to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables as
part of a low-fat, high-fiber diet in order to improve
health and prevent major chronic diseases, including
diet-related cancers.
2. Establishes the California Fresh Start Pilot Program
within the California Department of Education (CDE), to
be administered by CDE in consultation with the
Department of Food and Agriculture (DFA) and DHS, to
promote the consumption of nutritious fruits and
vegetables by school-age children.
3. Establishes the Women, Infants and Children program as a
nutrition program that helps pregnant women, new mothers
and young children eat well and stay healthy through the
use of special checks to buy healthy foods and provides
nutritional counseling and support to mothers of young
children and resources on breastfeeding and referrals to
health coverage programs.
This bill:
1. Makes legislative findings and declarations on the
importance of eating healthy and making available fresh
fruits and vegetables.
2. Requires DHS, in consultation with DFA, to develop up to
seven pilot programs with the following components:
A. Strategies aimed at small grocers in targeted
low-income neighborhoods to increase the offerings of
fresh fruits and vegetables in those communities,
including support or assistance to obtain
refrigerated produce display cases, and technical
assistance on the purchase, storage, marketing and
display of fresh produce. Requires DHS to use
federal funds for technical assistance, where
appropriate.
B. Strategies aimed at food stamp recipients to
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increase their purchase of fresh fruits and
vegetables by making those products more affordable,
including the development and implementation of
financial incentives. Requires DHS to seek any
necessary federal government approvals to allow use
of the Food Stamp Electronic Benefits Card, as
specified.
3. Requires DHS, in developing the program, to include the
following:
A. At least one county that is above the food stamp
average county participation.
B. At least one county that is below the food stamp
average county participation.
C. At least one county with high above-average rates
of poverty, food insecurity, or obesity.
D. At least one urban county.
E. At least one rural county.
4. Requires DHS to consider the following in choosing
counties to participate in the program:
A. Level of need in the community.
B. Size of food stamp population.
C. Need for geographic diversity.
D. Availability of technology in targeted food
retailers to collect the data necessary to evaluate
the program.
5. Requires DHS to seek all necessary approvals to
establish the pilot program, and apply for available
federal matching funds to support the work of the pilot
program.
6. Requires DHS, in consultation with the United States
Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service,
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to develop a process for evaluating the effectiveness of
the pilot program, and for DHS to contract with an
independent external evaluator for the evaluation.
7. Requires the evaluation to examine the impact of the
various strategies employed in the pilot program on the
purchase of fresh produce and on any increase in
retailer space devoted to the sale of fresh fruits and
vegetables, and the effect this has on retailer
profitability. Requires the evaluation test
alternatives to the reliance on uniform product codes
for identification of fresh produce deemed eligible for
financial incentives.
8. Requires DHS to make recommendations to the Legislature
regarding the continuation of the pilot program, and any
state and federal policy changes needed to support the
goals of the pilot program.
9. Makes implementation of this bill contingent upon an
appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another
statute or the receipt of federal funding.
10.Sunsets the provisions of this bill on January 1, 2011.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2006-07 2007-08
2008-09 Fund
Technical assistance $1,000 $1,000
$1,000 General
United States Department of Agriculture programs may
provide financing for most components of the program.
Total annualized cost to the federal government estimated
at $10 million.
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SUPPORT : (Verified 8/17/06)
California Food Policy Advocates (source)
Alameda County Community Food Bank
Association of California Independent Grocers and
Convenience Stores
California Catholic Conference
California Center for Public Health Advocacy
California Chiropractic Association
California Dietetic Association
California Food and Justice Coalition
California Hunger Action Coalition
California Immigrant Welfare Collaborative
California Independent Grocers Association
California Medical Association
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
Central Coast Hunger Coalition
Community Alliance with Family Farmers
County of Santa Cruz
Girl Scouts Council of California
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante
National Association of Social Workers
PolicyLink
Second Harvest Food Bank
Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network
Statewide Youth Board on Obesity Prevention
Western Growers
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Supporters state that this bill
will directly improve healthy eating in low-income
communities, and make it easier for small stores to provide
access to fresh fruit and vegetables in these communities.
This bill is a one solution to the growing obesity problem,
and meets the needs of low-income Californians who face
unique challenges in increasing their produce consumption.
California would be a pioneer in using Electronic Benefits
Transfer technology to deliver incentives for healthy
purchases, and the outcomes of this pilot could create an
impetus for national policies to increase consumption of
fruits and vegetables.
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Arambula, Baca, Bass, Berg, Bermudez, Calderon,
Canciamilla, Chan, Chavez, Chu, Cohn, Coto, Daucher, De
La Torre, Dymally, Evans, Frommer, Garcia, Goldberg,
Hancock, Jerome Horton, Shirley Horton, Jones, Karnette,
Klehs, Koretz, Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Lieu, Liu,
Matthews, Montanez, Mullin, Nation, Nava, Negrete McLeod,
Oropeza, Parra, Pavley, Ridley-Thomas, Ruskin, Saldana,
Salinas, Torrico, Umberg, Vargas, Wolk, Yee, Nunez
NOES: Aghazarian, Benoit, Blakeslee, Bogh, Cogdill,
DeVore, Emmerson, Harman, Haynes, Houston, Huff, Keene,
La Malfa, La Suer, Leslie, Maze, McCarthy, Mountjoy,
Nakanishi, Niello, Plescia, Richman, Sharon Runner,
Spitzer, Strickland, Tran, Villines, Walters, Wyland
CTW:mel 8/19/06 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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