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AB-1603 Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program: qualified entities: consumer cooperatives.(2023-2024)



Current Version: 02/17/23 - Introduced

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AB1603:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1603

Introduced by Assembly Member Alvarez

February 17, 2023

An act to amend Section 49012 of the Food and Agricultural Code, relating to food and agriculture.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1603, as introduced, Alvarez. Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program: qualified entities: consumer cooperatives.
Existing law creates the Office of Farm to Fork within the Department of Food and Agriculture, and requires the office, to the extent that resources are available, to work with various entities, including, among others, the agricultural industry and other organizations involved in promoting food access, to increase the amount of agricultural products available to underserved communities and schools in the state. Existing law requires the office to, among other things, identify urban and rural communities that lack access to healthy food, and to coordinate with local, state, and federal agencies to promote and increase awareness of programs that promote greater food access.
Existing law establishes the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program in the Office of Farm to Fork, and creates the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Account in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund to collect matching funds received from a specified federal grant program and funds from other public and private sources. Under the program, the department is required to award moneys in the account to qualified entities, as defined, to encourage the purchase and consumption of California fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables by nutrition benefit clients, as defined. Existing law requires that grants only be provided upon the deposit of sufficient funds into the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Account. A violation of the laws governing fruit, nut, and vegetable standards is a crime.
This bill would specify that a consumer cooperative, as defined, that sells California-grown fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables and is authorized to accept specified nutrition benefits from nutrition benefit clients is a qualified entity eligible to be awarded moneys through the Nutrition Incentive Matching Grant Program. By expanding the program to include consumer cooperatives, the bill would expand the scope of a crime and thereby impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 49012 of the Food and Agricultural Code is amended to read:

49012.
 For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) “Consumer incentive program” means a program administered by a qualified entity that increases the purchasing value of a nutrition benefit client’s benefits when the benefits are used to purchase California fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables.
(b) “Nutrition benefit client” means a person who receives services or payments through any of the following:
(1) California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, as described in Section 123280 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) CalWORKs program, as described in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(3) CalFresh, as described in Section 18900.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(4) Implementation of the federal WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-314).
(5) The Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, as described in Section 3007 of Title 7 of the United States Code.
(6) Supplemental Security Income or State Supplementary Payment, as described in Section 1381 and following of Title 42 of the United States Code.
(c) “Qualified entity” means either any of the following:
(1) A certified farmers’ market, as described in Section 47004, an association of certified producers, a community-supported agriculture program, as defined in Section 47060, a farm stand, as defined in Section 47050, or a nonprofit organization representing a collective or association of certified producers that is authorized by the United States Department of Agriculture to accept federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Chapter 51 (commencing with Section 2011) of Title 7 of the United States Code) benefits from recipient purchasers at a farmers’ market. Certified producers shall be certified by the county agricultural commissioner pursuant to Section 47020.
(2) A small business, as defined in Section 14837 of the Government Code, that sells California grown fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables and that is authorized to accept nutrition benefits from any of the programs listed in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, of subdivision (b).
(3) A consumer cooperative, as defined in Section 6012.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, that sells Califoria-grown fresh fruits, nuts, and vegetables and is authorized to accept nutrition benefits from any of the programs listed in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, of subdivision (b).

SEC. 2.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.