Bill Text: FL S1768 | 2021 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Agriculture and Nutrition
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Failed) 2021-04-30 - Died in Appropriations [S1768 Detail]
Download: Florida-2021-S1768-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2021 CS for SB 1768 By the Committee on Agriculture; and Senator Rouson 575-02985-21 20211768c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to agriculture and nutrition; amending 3 s. 287.082, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes 4 made by the act; creating s. 287.0823, F.S.; declaring 5 that it is a state goal that by a specified date, a 6 percentage of food commodities purchased by state 7 agencies, Florida College System institutions, and 8 state universities will be grown or produced in this 9 state; requiring such agencies, institutions, and 10 universities to give preference to food commodities 11 grown or produced in this state in certain purchasing 12 agreements, state term contracts, or contracts for the 13 purchase of food commodities; providing conditions for 14 such preference; defining the term “food commodities”; 15 requiring certain of such agencies, institutions, and 16 universities to cooperate with the Department of 17 Management Services in establishing a reporting 18 system; requiring such agencies, institutions, and 19 universities to report compliance to the Governor, 20 Cabinet, and Legislature by a specified date each 21 year; specifying report requirements; amending s. 22 595.405, F.S.; providing sponsor reimbursements for 23 certain school breakfast meals; requiring certain 24 schools to implement a program for special assistance 25 certification and reimbursement alternatives to 26 provide universal free school breakfast and lunch 27 meals; providing an exception; requiring sponsors or 28 designated sponsor entities to consider certain public 29 testimony before declining to implement the program; 30 directing the Department of Education to use specified 31 data and methodologies to establish income levels for 32 schools implementing the program; requiring a 33 specified multiplier to be applied when using certain 34 data; creating s. 595.421, F.S.; establishing the 35 Agricultural Surplus Purchase Program within the 36 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for a 37 specified purpose; authorizing the department to 38 consult with specified entities; directing the 39 department to purchase, donate, and distribute certain 40 agricultural commodities to specified organizations 41 and communities and to adopt specified rules; creating 42 s. 595.422, F.S.; establishing the Local Food Pantry 43 Infrastructure Assistance Grant Program within the 44 department for a specified purpose; defining the term 45 “food pantry”; requiring the department to adopt 46 specified rules and to promote and market the program; 47 creating s. 595.802, F.S.; establishing the Healthy 48 Food Access Pilot Program within the department for a 49 specified purpose; requiring the department to adopt 50 rules; authorizing the department to enter into 51 agreements with third-party vendors; requiring the 52 department to submit an annual report to the Governor 53 and Legislature; providing that the program is 54 repealed by a specified date unless reenacted by the 55 Legislature; providing appropriations; providing an 56 effective date. 57 58 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 59 60 Section 1. Section 287.082, Florida Statutes, is amended to 61 read: 62 287.082 Commodities manufactured, grown, or producedin 63 state given preference.—Whenever two or more competitive sealed 64 bids are received, one or more of which relates to commodities 65 manufactured, grown, or producedwithin this state, and whenever 66 all things stated in such received bids are equal with respect 67 to price, quality, and service, the commodities manufactured,68grown, or producedwithin this state shall be given preference. 69 Section 2. Section 287.0823, Florida Statutes, is created 70 to read: 71 287.0823 Commodities grown or produced in state given 72 preference.— 73 (1) It is the goal of the state that by 2030, 15 percent of 74 all food commodities purchased by state agencies, Florida 75 College System institutions, and state universities shall be 76 grown or produced within this state. 77 (2)(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, 78 and to the extent permitted by federal law, such state agencies, 79 institutions, and universities, when purchasing food 80 commodities, shall give preference to food commodities grown or 81 produced within this state. 82 (b) As used in this section, the term “food commodities” 83 means any agricultural, apicultural, aquacultural, 84 floricultural, horticultural, viticultural, and vegetable 85 products produced in this state or any class, variety, or use 86 thereof, in their natural state or as processed by a producer 87 for the purpose of marketing the product or by a processor, 88 including, but not limited to, all agricultural products; 89 livestock and livestock products; poultry and poultry products; 90 fish and seafood; and products of the farms, waters, and forests 91 of this state. 92 (3) When a purchasing agreement, state term contract, or 93 contract for the purchase of food commodities is to be awarded 94 to the lowest responsive and responsible vendor, an otherwise 95 qualified vendor who will fulfill the contract through the use 96 of food commodities grown or produced within this state may be 97 given preference over other vendors, provided that the price 98 included in the bid, proposal, or reply for the food commodities 99 grown or produced within this state is not more than 10 percent 100 greater than the price included in a bid, proposal, or reply 101 that is for food commodities grown or produced outside of this 102 state. 103 (4) All state agencies, Florida College System 104 institutions, and state universities that purchase food 105 commodities shall cooperate with the department in establishing 106 a reporting system for identifying the percentage of purchased 107 food commodities that are grown or produced within this state. 108 Beginning with the 2021-2022 fiscal year, such state agencies, 109 institutions, and universities shall report their compliance 110 with this section for the preceding fiscal year to the Governor, 111 the Cabinet, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the 112 House of Representatives on or before November 1 of each year. 113 The report must contain, at a minimum, the following for each 114 state agency, Florida College System institution, and state 115 university: 116 (a) Total expenditures for, and quantity of, food 117 commodities purchased. 118 (b) Total expenditures for, and quantity of, food 119 commodities purchased that were grown or produced within this 120 state. 121 (c) Total expenditures for food commodities grown or 122 produced outside of this state. 123 (d) A statement and assessment of good faith efforts taken 124 to cooperate with this subsection. 125 Section 3. Subsections (9) and (10) are added to section 126 595.405, Florida Statutes, to read: 127 595.405 School nutrition program requirements.— 128 (9) To eliminate the reduced-price copayment for school 129 breakfast meals, the department shall reimburse sponsors for 130 each breakfast meal that meets the requirements of federal law 131 and department rules and is served to a student who qualifies 132 for reduced-price meals, the greater of 30 cents or the 133 difference between the United States Department of Agriculture 134 reimbursement rate for a free breakfast and a reduced-price 135 breakfast. 136 (10)(a) Beginning June 1, 2022, each school in which 80 137 percent or more of the students are eligible for free or 138 reduced-price meals shall implement a program for special 139 assistance certification and reimbursement alternatives, as 140 defined by 7 C.F.R. s. 245.2, to provide universal free school 141 breakfast and lunch meals to all students, unless a sponsor, 142 after considering public testimony at two or more regularly 143 scheduled school board or sponsor’s administration meetings, 144 decides not to implement a program in an eligible school. The 145 sponsor, its school nutrition director, or other designee shall 146 attend at least one training by the department regarding the 147 special assistance certification and reimbursement alternatives 148 before the decision whether to implement the special assistance 149 certification and reimbursement alternatives is made by the 150 school board or sponsor’s administration. 151 (b) For schools implementing special assistance 152 certification and reimbursement alternatives, the Department of 153 Education shall use alternate sources of socioeconomic data, 154 such as local data collected by the city or county zoning and 155 economic planning office; unemployment data; local Supplemental 156 Nutrition Assistance Program certification data, including 157 direct certification and statistical sampling of the school’s 158 population using an equivalent income measurement process to the 159 free and reduced-price application; or Temporary Assistance for 160 Needy Families data, to establish the income level of the school 161 population. 162 (c) A multiplier shall be applied when an alternate source 163 of socioeconomic data is used to ensure school-level allocations 164 of Title I, Part A, Basic funds for schools implementing special 165 assistance certification and reimbursement alternatives are 166 maintained at the same funding level or higher as the funding 167 level received from the enrollment surveys and free and reduced 168 price school lunch data for the 2019-2020 school year. 169 Section 4. Section 595.421, Florida Statutes, is created to 170 read: 171 595.421 Agricultural Surplus Purchase Program.— 172 (1) The Agricultural Surplus Purchase Program is 173 established within the department to purchase agricultural 174 commodities from farmers in this state who are unable to sell 175 their agricultural commodities due to unusually large yields or 176 disruptions in the market or food supply chain. The department 177 may consult with food banks or other nonprofit organizations to 178 establish and implement the program. 179 (2)(a) The department shall pay fair market value for any 180 agricultural commodities it purchases from a farmer under the 181 program. 182 (b) The department shall donate and distribute any 183 agricultural commodities purchased under the program to 184 charitable and nonprofit organizations in rural areas of 185 opportunity as defined in s. 288.0656(2) and rural communities 186 as defined in s. 288.0656(2). 187 (3) The department shall adopt by rule an application 188 process for farmers and charitable and nonprofit organizations 189 to participate in the program. The application process shall, at 190 a minimum, include eligibility requirements and criteria for 191 prioritizing and selecting applicants. 192 (4) The department is encouraged to seek funding from 193 private entities and other governmental entities to fund the 194 program. 195 Section 5. Section 595.422, Florida Statutes, is created to 196 read: 197 595.422 Local Food Pantry Infrastructure Assistance Grant 198 Program.— 199 (1) The Local Food Pantry Infrastructure Assistance Grant 200 Program is established within the department to build food 201 pantry capacity to facilitate managing donated food, to increase 202 the availability of perishable food items, and to minimize the 203 loss of perishable food items before distribution. 204 (2) As used in this section, the term “food pantry” means a 205 public or private nonprofit organization that distributes food 206 to persons and households in need to relieve situations of 207 emergency and distress. 208 (3) The department shall establish by rule grant award 209 requirements, including eligibility, application, and selection 210 criteria. 211 (4) The department shall promote and market the program to 212 food pantries as an opportunity to compete for grant funding. 213 Section 6. Section 595.802, Florida Statutes, is created to 214 read: 215 595.802 Healthy Food Access Pilot Program.— 216 (1) The Healthy Food Access Pilot Program is established 217 within the department to increase access to healthy and 218 affordable food by providing grants to support local 219 governments, transportation agencies, community development 220 corporations, and nonprofit organizations in implementing 221 transit system projects that connect low-income and low access 222 communities in rural areas and throughout this state to grocery 223 stores, farmers’ markets, and community-supported agriculture 224 programs. 225 (2) The department shall adopt rules to implement this 226 section and may enter into an agreement with a third-party 227 vendor to administer the pilot program. 228 (3) Beginning November 1, 2021, and each November 1 229 thereafter, the department shall submit an annual report to the 230 Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the 231 House of Representatives on the projects funded, the geographic 232 distribution of the projects, the costs of the program, and the 233 outcomes. 234 (4) This section is repealed July 1, 2024, unless reviewed 235 and saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 236 Section 7. (1) For the 2021-2022 fiscal year, the sum of 237 $2,756,801 in recurring funds from the General Revenue Fund is 238 appropriated to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer 239 Services for the purpose of providing sponsor reimbursements for 240 breakfast meals pursuant to s. 595.405, Florida Statutes. 241 (2) For the 2021-2022 fiscal year, the sum of $1 million in 242 recurring funds from the General Revenue Fund is appropriated to 243 the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for the 244 purpose of implementing the Agricultural Surplus Purchase 245 Program pursuant to s. 595.421, Florida Statutes. The department 246 may use up to 5 percent of the funds for administrative costs 247 associated with the program. 248 (3) For the 2021-2022 fiscal year, the sum of $500,000 in 249 recurring funds from the General Revenue Fund is appropriated to 250 the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for the 251 purpose of implementing the Local Food Pantry Infrastructure 252 Assistance Grant Program pursuant to s. 595.422, Florida 253 Statutes. 254 (4)(a) For the 2021-2022 fiscal year, the sum of $350,000 255 in recurring funds from the General Revenue Fund is appropriated 256 to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for the 257 purpose of implementing the Healthy Food Access Pilot Program 258 pursuant to s. 595.802, Florida Statutes. 259 (b) Unexpended balances of appropriations provided for the 260 Healthy Food Access Pilot Program may not revert to the General 261 Revenue Fund at the end of the 2021-2022 fiscal year but must be 262 retained in the Food and Nutrition Services Trust Fund and 263 carried forward to fund the pilot program in the 2022-2023 264 fiscal year. Balances of appropriations provided for the pilot 265 program which remain unexpended on July 1, 2024, shall revert to 266 the General Revenue Fund. 267 Section 8. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.