BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2246
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Date of Hearing: April 25, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Cathleen Galgiani, Chair
AB 2246 (John A. Peréz) - As Amended: April 23, 2012
SUBJECT : Public health: food access.
SUMMARY : Requires the California Healthy Food Financing
Initiative (CHFFI) Council to establish and maintain an Internet
Website with prescribed information, including information on
actions that the CHFFI Council has taken and funding sources
that are available to support access to healthy foods.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the CHFFI Council to establish and maintain an
internet website, and requires the website to include, by
March 31, 2013, but not be limited to, the following
information:
a) Actions taken by the CHFFI Council;
b) Funding sources that are available to support access to
healthy foods, including loans and grants from public,
private, or philanthropic sources, and how to obtain these
sources of funding;
c) Interagency activities among the State Treasurer's
Office, the California Department of Food and Agriculture
(CDFA), the California Health and Human Services Agency,
and the Labor and Workforce Development Agency that focus
on benefiting underserved communities and increasing access
to healthy foods; and,
d) Resources and links to other internet web sites with
information on food deserts and increasing access to
healthy foods.
EXISTING LAW requires CDFA to promote and protect the
agricultural industry of the state and requires, by July 1,
2012, the Secretary of CDFA to prepare recommendations, to be
presented upon request to the Legislature, regarding actions
that need to be taken to promote food access in the state.
Statute establishes, until July 1, 2017, CHFFI to expand access
to nutritious foods in underserved, urban, and rural
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communities. Statute establishes the CHFFI Council and the
CHFFI Fund, within the State Treasurer's Office, to implement
CHFFI, and requires the CHFFI Council, among other things, to
develop financing options using public or private moneys and
resources to support access to healthy foods.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed fiscal by
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : According to the author, residents of communities
referred to as food deserts do not have access to a selection of
healthy foods, such as fruits, vegetables or dairy products. As
a result, the author maintains, residents of these geographic
areas generally have higher incidences of certain types of
diseases, including: diabetes, cancer, obesity, heart disease,
and premature death. The author maintains that CHFFI is
mirrored after successful healthy food financing programs in the
states of Pennsylvania and New York, and addresses the issue by
encouraging the active pursuit of opportunities to increase the
number of grocery stores, farm stands, farmers' markets, direct
farm to institutions and consumer markets, and community gardens
in underserved urban and rural communities. The author asserts
that requiring the CHFFI Council to establish a website will
provide an on-line informational resource regarding funding
opportunities and state agency actions for those interested in
reducing California's food deserts and increasing access to
healthy foods in underserved communities.
The California State Association of Counties and the American
Planning Association write that they support efforts to increase
the number of fresh grocery stores, urban and rural farm stands,
farmer's markets, and community gardens in underserved
communities. By providing information and updates on the CHFFI
Council's progress toward this goal - including funding and
grant opportunities - the new website will serve as an important
tool in the state's effort to promote access to healthy food.
The U.S. Congress requested in the Food Conservation and Energy
Act of 2008, that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
study food deserts and issue their findings. According to their
report "Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Measuring and
Understanding their Consequences," a food desert is a food
environment unsupportive of health; it is defined by barriers
which restrict access to healthy foods, such as lack of access
to food retailers, availability of nutritious foods, or
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affordability of foods.
Research indicates that land-use policies that facilitate
development of predominately wealthy and suburban neighborhoods
have altered the distribution of food stores. In the interest
of profitability, larger supermarkets have followed this trend
and are most prevalent in suburban neighborhoods. Food supply,
within inner-cities and some rural areas, includes less variety
and denies some residents the benefits of healthy foods at
affordable prices. Remaining food retailers in these areas are
gas stations, convenience stores, and liquor stores. A diet
based on foods from these locations consists primarily of
processed foods high in calories, sugars, salt, fat, and
artificial ingredients. Health disparities related to food
access and consumption are associated with residential
segregation, low incomes, and neighborhood deprivation.
Research suggests that the problem of food deserts goes beyond
health; poor communities are cut off from the economic
development opportunities that arise from a local grocery store,
including creating new jobs and opportunities, boosting a
community's physical health and well-being, attracting other
small businesses, and supporting surrounding residential real
estate values.
According to the State Treasurer's Office, CHFFI, a
public-private partnership program, was created to increase
access to healthy foods in underserved communities and inspire
innovation in healthy food retailing. CHFFI was established in
October 2011, when Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 581
(John A. Peréz), Chapter 505, Statutes of 2011. The CHFFI Fund
within the State Treasurer's Office is comprised of federal,
state, philanthropic, and private funds. These funds will
provide financing for grocery stores and other forms of healthy
food retail and distribution by providing capital to eligible
applicants. Additionally, the program is aimed to receive
federal dollars as part of President Barack Obama's federal
Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) - a partnership between
USDA, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the
Department of the Treasury. According to the State Treasurer's
Office, in his fiscal year 2012 budget proposal, President Obama
called for a $345 million investment in HFFI.
RELATED LEGISLATION : AB 1897 (Campos), would require local
governments, in their land use planning and zoning requirements,
to identify food deserts, as defined, within the city or county
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and consider zoning changes to mitigate those areas currently
designated as food deserts. This bill is currently in the
Assembly Committee on Local Government and is set to be heard
April 25, 2012.
PREVIOUS LEGISLATION : AB 581 (John A. Pérez), Chapter 505,
Statutes of 2011, created CHFFI, the CHFFI Fund and the CHFFI
Council, for the purpose of expanding access to healthy foods in
underserved communities. It required the Secretary of CDFA, by
July 1, 2012, to prepare recommended actions to be taken to
promote food access within California and authorized CDFA to
create an Advisory Group, as specified. This authority remains
in effect until January 1, 2017.
AB 2720 (John A. Pérez), of the 2010 legislative session, was
substantially similar to AB 581, and was vetoed during that
year's budget negotiations by Governor Schwarzenegger with the
following veto message: "While my Administration shares the
same goals as the author when it comes to promoting healthy and
affordable food access for low-income communities in California,
the HFFI has not yet been acted on by Congress. Unless and
until those important federal funding details are known, this
bill is both premature and unnecessary."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
American Planning Association, California Chapter
California State Association of Counties
California Retailers Association
League of California Cities
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Jim Collin / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084
AB 2246
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