BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
35 (Oropeza)
Hearing Date: 5/28/2009 Amended: 5/4/2009
Consultant: Katie Johnson Policy Vote: G. O. 8-2
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 35 would require the Governor to direct a
state agency to establish and maintain a clearinghouse database
that would allow a food bank or a nonprofit charitable
organization that would like to receive food to contact a food
facility that has an interest in donating food.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
DPH Staff $30 $30 $0 General
Database purchase $220 $40 $40
General
and maintenance
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Existing federal law, the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food
Donation Act, and state law protects food donors from liability
when donating to nonprofit organizations in the event that the
donated food causes harm to the recipient organization. Existing
law provides for the regulation of food facilities by the
California Department of Public Health (CDPH).
This bill would require a state agency to establish and maintain
a database that would enable nonprofits and food banks
interested in obtaining donated food to contact a food facility
that would be able to donate food. For purposes of this
analysis, it is assumed that the CDPH would be designated by the
Governor as the entity to administer this bill. It is estimated
that the CDPH would need approximately $200,000 from the General
Fund to prepare a feasibility study report to contract for and
obtain the database.
This bill would also require the state agency to prepare and
make available information materials regarding the clearinghouse
database to all food banks, nonprofit organizations, and food
facilities. This bill does not specify the mechanism for
informing these entities. The CDPH would also need a staff
person for one year at approximately $60,000 General Fund to
initially input food bank, nonprofit, and food facility contact
information into the database and to developed the specified
informational materials. It is estimated that ongoing costs to
maintain the database would be minor and absorbable.
This bill would require a written contract entered into by a
food facility to prepare, provide, or serve food for immediate
consumption at a catered event to include language that informs
the purchaser of the food of the clearinghouse database.
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SB 35 (Oropeza)
SB 1443 (Oropeza), a bill that would have similarly required
every written contract entered into by a food facility for a
catered event to include language in the contract that would
have provided the food facility with the option of donating any
left over food, died in 2008 on the Assembly Inactive File. SB
1443 was keyed non-fiscal; therefore, the provisions relating to
caterer contracts has no state fiscal effect.
As proposed to be amended, this bill would require a designated
state agency to establish a listing of parties interested in
donating or receiving donated food. This bill would require the
designated state agency to develop a process by which interested
parties could voluntarily contact the department and add their
contact information to the listing of parties. This bill would
require the process, including any registration documents, to be
made available on the agency's Web site. It is likely that the
CDPH would need to procure a system to act as the registry and a
staff person for at least one year to initially update and
maintain it at an approximate cost of $250,000 in FY 2009-2010,
$70,000 in FY 2010-2011, and $40,000 ongoing.