BILL NUMBER: AB 727 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 25, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 25, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Mitchell
FEBRUARY 17, 2011
An act to amend Section 11005.4 of, and to add Section 11005.8 to,
the Government Code, and to amend Section 12401 of, and to add
Section 10300.1 to, the Public Contract Code, relating to public
contracts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 727, as amended, Mitchell. Public contacts
contracts : healthy and sustainable food.
Existing law regulates various aspects of the provision of food
and beverages in vending machines, including requiring a vendor that
operates or maintains a vending machine on designated state property
to offer food and beverages in the vending machine that meet accepted
nutritional guidelines, as defined, in accordance with certain
percentages. Existing law governing contracting between state
agencies and private contractors sets forth requirements for the
procurement of supplies, materials, equipment, and services by state
agencies and sets forth the various responsibilities of the
Department of General Services and other state agencies in overseeing
and implementing state contracting procedures and policies.
This bill would require, beginning January 1, 2014, at least 50%
of food and beverages offered by a vendor in a vending machine on
designated state property , as defined,
to meet accepted nutritional guidelines, and by January 1, 2016,
at least 100% of the food and beverages offered by
such a vendor to meet those nutritional guidelines. The bill also
would revise the definition of accepted nutritional guidelines for
this purpose.
This bill would additionally require, beginning January 1, 2014,
any food sold in a state-owned or leased
state-leased building to meet the standard criteria for food
and nutrition guidelines for concessions as determined under the
federal Health and Sustainability Guidelines for Federal Concessions
and Vending Operations.
This bill would also require the Department of General Services,
when approving contractors contracts
for the purchase of food sold in any state-owned or leased
state-leased building, to give preference to
, and not include disincentives for, food which meets
certain criteria, as specified, and would require the Department of
General Services to provide state agencies with the federal Health
and Sustainability Guidelines for Federal Concessions and Vending
Operations. The bill would make related legislative findings
regarding its purpose.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) More than six million California adults, 23 percent of the
state's population, are obese and an additional 9.3 million adults,
34 percent of the state's population, are overweight, resulting in
$21 billion in estimated health care costs for California in 2006.
Therefore, offering healthy and sustainable food and beverage options
at state workplaces would help increase the consumption of foods
that are low in fat, sodium, and sugars, thereby reducing the
instances of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other preventable
health conditions.
(2) Buying local and sustainable food and beverage options reduces
vehicle miles traveled, which positively impacts the environment. In
2008, the agriculture sector contributed 6.1 percent of the total
United States greenhouse gas emissions. Further, 11 percent of
the total agriculture sector the greenhouse gas emissions are a
result of "food miles," while wholesaling and retailing food
contribute 5 percent, and food production practices account for the
majority, 83 percent, of greenhouse gas emissions from the food
system.
(3) The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has
published a guide entitled "Improving the Food Environment Through
Nutrition Standards: A Guide for Government Procurement," which finds
that states and localities can develop, adopt, and implement food
procurement policies in order to model healthier food environments to
positively impact government settings, including employee
cafeterias, correctional facilities, schools, child care centers,
public hospitals, senior centers, and parks.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to amend existing law
regarding nutritional guidelines in order to further assist vendors
and contractors that provide food and beverages through vending
operations in increasing well-balanced and healthy food and snack
items.
SEC. 2. Section 11005.4 of the Government Code is amended to read:
11005.4. (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms
have the following meanings:
(1) "Accepted nutritional guidelines" as used in this section
means the following:
(A) Beverages that are the following or meet the following
standards:
(i) Drinking water, including carbonated water products
without added sweeteners .
(ii) Milk products, including, but not limited to, 2 percent, 1
percent, or nonfat milk, soy milk, rice milk, and other similar
nondairy milk without added sweeteners. This clause shall not apply
to nuts, seeds, eggs, and cheese packaged for individual sale.
(iii) Sugar sweetened or artificially sweetened beverages that do
not exceed 25 calories per 8 ounces.
(iv) One hundred-percent fruit juice.
(v) Fruit-based drinks that are composed of no less than
50-percent fruit juice and that have no added sweeteners.
(B) Food that meets the following standards:
(i) Not more than 35 percent of its total calories are from fat.
This clause shall not apply to legumes, nuts, nut butters, seeds,
eggs, nonfried vegetables, and cheese packaged for
individual sale and without added fats or oils .
(ii) Not more than 10 percent of its total calories are from
saturated fats. This clause shall not apply to nuts, nut
butters, seeds, eggs, and cheese.
(iii) Not more than 35 percent of its total weight is from sugar.
This clause does not apply to fruits and vegetables.
(iv) Individual snack items shall not exceed 250 calories.
(v) Individual snack items shall not exceed 230 milligrams of
sodium per serving. This clause shall not apply to refrigerated
meals.
(vi) Individual entr�e items shall not exceed 480 milligrams of
sodium per serving.
(c) The accepted nutritional guidelines described in this
paragraph shall be assessed when the Center for Nutrition Policy and
Promotion within the United States Department of Agriculture revises
the Federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans for the purpose of
ensuring that the accepted nutritional guidelines meet the guidelines
of the United States Department of Agriculture.
(2) "Added sweetener" means any additive that enhances the
sweetness of a beverage, including, but not limited to, added sugar,
but does not include the natural sugar or sugars that are contained
within the fruit juice that is a component of the beverage.
(3) "State property" as used in this section means all real
property, or part thereof, used for state purposes and either owned,
leased, rented, or otherwise controlled by, and occupied by, any
state agency.
(4) "Vending machine" means any mechanical device, the operation
of which depends upon the insertion of a coin or other thing
representative of value and that dispenses or vends a food product or
beverage, but does not include any mechanical device that is unable
to dispense any food or beverage meeting accepted nutritional
guidelines without physical alteration or any mechanical device that
solely dispenses or vends hot beverages or ice cream.
(5) "Individual entr�e item" means food generally regarded as the
primary food in a meal and which contains either:
(A) Two or more of the following groups: meat or meat alternatives
such as tofu or other similar alternatives, grain or bread,
vegetable or fruit that are eaten together , including,
but not limited to, sandwiches, pizza, hamburger on a bun, bean
burrito, chef's salad, fruit and cheese platter, baked potato with
chili, chicken vegetable stir-fry, or vegetable sandwich.
(B) A meat or meat alternative alone , including, but
not limited to, sausage patty, egg, and chicken nuggets. Nuts, nut
butters, seeds, cheese, and yogurt served alone shall not be included
for purposes of this subparagraph.
(6) "Individual snack item" means an item that does not meet the
definition of an "individual entr�e item."
(b) A vendor that operates or maintains a vending machine on state
property shall do all of the following:
(1) Until January 1, 2014, offer in the vending machine at least
35 percent of food that meets accepted nutritional guidelines.
(i)
(A) Beginning January 1, 2014, offer in the vending
machine at least 50 percent of food that meets accepted nutritional
guidelines.
(ii)
(B) Beginning January 1, 2016, offer in the vending
machine 100 percent of food that meets accepted nutritional
guidelines.
(2) Until January 1, 2014, offer in the vending machine at least
one-third of the beverages that meet accepted nutritional guidelines.
At least one beverage option shall be drinking water and the price
of the drinking water shall not be higher than the other beverage
options. A separate one-third of the beverages offered in the vending
machine shall either meet accepted nutritional guidelines or be
flavored milk, beverages containing less than 20 calories per 12
ounce serving, or beverages that are composed of at least 50-percent
fruit juice that may contain noncaloric sweetener. The remaining
one-third of the beverages offered in the vending machine may be any
beverage allowed by law.
(i)
(A) Beginning January 1, 2014, offer in the vending
machine at least 50 percent of beverages that meet accepted
nutritional guidelines.
(ii)
(B) Beginning January 1, 2016, offer in the vending
machine 100 percent of beverages that meet accepted nutritional
guidelines.
(c) A vendor may meet the requirements in subdivision (b) by
offering 25 percent of the food in a vending machine that meets
accepted nutritional guidelines by January 1, 2009, by offering the
total 35 percent of the food required to meet accepted nutritional
guidelines by January 1, 2011, by offering 50 percent of the food
required to meet accepted nutritional guidelines by January 1, 2014,
and by offering the total 100 percent of the food required to meet
accepted nutritional guidelines by January 1, 2016.
(d) If a vendor operates or maintains two or more vending machines
that are located next to each other, the provisions of subdivisions
(b) and (c) may be met by calculating the percentage of the total
food and beverages offered in all of the adjacent machines.
SEC. 3. Section 11005.8 is added to the Government Code, to read:
11005.8. Beginning January 1, 2014, food sold in any state-owned
or leased state-leased building at food
concessions and cafeterias shall meet at least the standard criteria
for food and nutrition guidelines for concessions as determined by
the federal Department of Health and Human Services and the United
States General Services Administration's Health and Sustainability
Guidelines for Federal Concessions and Vending Operations.
SEC. 4. Section 10300.1 is added to the Public Contract Code, to
read:
10300.1. (a) When approving contracts for the purchase of food to
be sold in any state-owned or leased
state-leased building at food concessions, cafeterias, or
vending operations, the Department of General Services shall give
preference to purchasing food items in the following order:
(1) Food items grown, packaged, or produced within 150 miles of
the building where the food will be sold.
(2) Food items
grown, packaged, or produced within the state
State of California.
(b) When approving contracts for the purchase of food to be sold
in any state-owned or leased building for food concessions,
cafeterias, or vending operations, the Department of General Services
shall give preference to purchasing food items that meet the
sustainability guidelines for general food as determined by the
federal Department of Health and Human Services and the United States
General Services Administration's Health and Sustainability
Guidelines for Federal Concessions and Vending Operations.
(c) When approving contracts for the purchase of food to be sold
in any state-owned or state-leased building at food concessions,
cafeterias, or vending operations, the Department of General Services
shall not include provisions that provide a disincentive for the
purchase of food items that are grown, packaged, or produced within
the State of California or for food items that meet the
sustainability guidelines in subdivision (b).
SEC. 5. Section 12401 of the Public Contract Code is amended to
read:
12401. The Department of General Services, in consultation with
the California Environmental Protection Agency, members of the
public, industry, and public health and environmental organizations,
shall provide state agencies with information and assistance
regarding environmentally preferable purchasing ,
including, but not limited to, the following:
(a) The promotion of environmentally preferable purchasing.
(b) The development and implementation of a strategy to increase
environmentally preferable purchasing. This may include the
development of statewide policies, guidelines, programs, and
regulations.
(c) The coordination with other state and federal agencies, task
forces, workgroups, regulatory efforts, research and data collection
efforts, and other programs and services relating to environmentally
preferable purchasing.
(d) The development and implementation, to the extent fiscally
feasible, of training programs designed to instill the importance and
value of environmentally preferable purchasing.
(e) The development, to the extent fiscally feasible, of an
environmentally preferable purchasing best practices manual for state
purchasing employees.
(f) The federal Department of Health and Human Services and the
United States General Services Administrations
Administration's Health and Sustainability Guidelines for
Federal Concessions and Vending Operations to assist in developing
practices to promote the acquisition of healthy, sustainable, and
environmentally preferable purchasing.