BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 1269
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   June 30, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                    SB 1269 (Oropeza) - As Amended:  May 13, 2010 

          Policy Committee:                              JudiciaryVote:7 -  
          3 

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the California Department of Food and  
          Agriculture (CDFA) and the Department of Public Health (DPA) to  
          post information on their websites and, where possible,  
          disseminate through existing publications, information on state  
          and federal exemptions from liability for the donation of food  
          to nonprofit corporations and tax deductions for charitable  
          contributions of food. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Costs associated with posting information on department websites  
          would be minor and absorbable within existing resources. 

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . The intent of this legislation is to ensure that  
            information on liability exemptions and tax deductions  
            surrounding food donation are easily accessible to those who  
            may be considering donating food to nonprofit organizations. 

            According to the author, although state and federal laws  
            appropriately grant limited immunity and tax incentives to  
            persons and organizations that donate food for charitable  
            purposes, many organizations and businesses remain reluctant  
            to donate edible surplus food out of fear that they might,  
            through no fault of their own, become liable for any harm that  
            might result from the consumption of the food.  The author  
            contends that if businesses and organizations were better  
            informed about existing immunity and tax incentives, that they  
            would be more likely to make donations.








                                                                  SB 1269
                                                                  Page  2


           2)Related Legislation  . SB 35 (Oropeza, 2009-10 session) would  
            have required 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 to  
            contact a food facility that has an interest in donating food.  
             That bill was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee  
            suspense file. 

            SB 1443 (Oropeza, 2007-08 session) would have required all  
            contracts entered into between caterers and purchasers to  
            include language that gives the purchaser the option of  
            authorizing the caterer to donate leftover food to a food bank  
            or charitable organization.  That bill failed passage on the  
            Assembly Floor.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081