Bill Text: IA HF2645 | 2019-2020 | 88th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to a program that assists schools and school districts in purchasing fresh farm produce, making appropriations, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 33-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-06-11 - Introduced, referred to Education. H.J. 693. [HF2645 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2019-HF2645-Introduced.html

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House File 2645 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE 2645
BY ISENHART , EHLERT ,
BROWN-POWERS , McCONKEY ,
STAED , BEARINGER ,
GASKILL , STECKMAN , McKEAN ,
LENSING , WINCKLER , FORBES ,
WILBURN , HALL , R. SMITH ,
NIELSEN , COHOON , KACENA ,
ABDUL-SAMAD , OURTH ,
KONFRST , MASCHER , OLSON ,
JAMES , BENNETT , WOLFE ,
OLDSON , DERRY , THEDE ,
HUNTER , KURTZ , JACOBY ,
M. SMITH , WILLIAMS , and
SHIPLEY
A BILL FOR
An Act relating to a program that assists schools and school
districts in purchasing fresh farm produce, making
appropriations, and including effective date and retroactive
applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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Section 1. NEW SECTION . 190A.11 Definitions.
As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise
requires:
1. “Department” means the department of agriculture and land
stewardship.
2. “Farm source” means a farmer who produces fresh farm
produce and sells directly to consumers or to a distributor or
broker of fresh farm produce.
3. “Fresh farm produce” means vegetables, fruits, or nuts
intended for inclusion as part of a school diet, including
school meals and snacks as described in section 190A.3, if the
vegetables, fruits, or nuts are not processed except for being
trimmed, cleaned, dried, sorted, or packaged.
4. “Fund” means the local farm produce fund created in
section 190A.12.
5. “Program” means the local farm produce program created
in section 190A.13.
6. “School” means a public school or nonpublic school, as
those terms are defined in section 280.2, or that portion of a
public school or nonpublic school that provides facilities for
teaching any grade from kindergarten through grade twelve.
7. “School district” means a school district as described
in chapter 274.
Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 190A.12 Local farm produce fund.
1. A local farm produce fund is created in the state
treasury under the management and control of the department.
2. The fund shall include moneys appropriated to the fund
by the general assembly. The fund may include other moneys
available to and obtained or accepted by the department,
including moneys from public or private sources.
3. Moneys in the fund are appropriated to support the
program in a manner determined by the department, including for
reasonable administrative costs incurred by the department.
However, the department shall not use more than five percent
of moneys credited to the fund during a fiscal year to pay for
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H.F. 2645
reasonable administrative costs.
4. a. Notwithstanding section 12C.7, interest or earnings
on moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund.
b. Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys credited to the
fund that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the end of a
fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain available for the
purposes designated.
Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 190A.13 Local farm produce program.
1. A local farm produce program is created. The program
shall be controlled and administered by the department.
2. The purpose of the program is to assist schools and
school districts in purchasing fresh farm produce.
3. The department shall reimburse a school or school
district for expenditures incurred by the school or school
district for the purchase of fresh farm produce during
the school year in which the school or school district is
participating in the program.
4. A school or school district must apply each year to the
department to participate in the program according to rules
adopted by the department pursuant to chapter 17A.
5. To be eligible to participate in the program, a school or
school district must purchase the fresh farm produce directly
from a farm source as follows:
a. Except as provided in paragraph “b” , the farm source must
be located in this state.
b. If the school district shares a border with another
state, or the school is part of a school district that shares
a border with another state, the farm source may be located
in the other state. However, the food source must be located
within thirty miles from the school district’s border with that
state and the department must approve the purchase.
6. The department shall require proof of purchase prior to
reimbursing the school or school district for the purchase of
fresh farm produce.
7. The department may administer the program in cooperation
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with the department of education and the participating school
district or school district in which a participating school is
located.
8. a. The department shall reimburse a participating
school or school district that submits a claim as required
by the department. The department shall pay the claim on a
matching basis with the department contributing one dollar for
every three dollars expended by the school or school district.
However, a school or school district shall not receive
more than five thousand dollars during any year in which it
participates in the program.
b. If the department determines that there are not
sufficient moneys in the fund to satisfy all applications that
are submitted by schools and school districts, the department
shall distribute available moneys after reducing the requested
amounts by a like percentage.
c. Notwithstanding paragraph “a” , if the department
determines that there are sufficient moneys in the fund to
satisfy all claims that may be submitted by schools and school
districts, the department shall provide for the distribution of
the available moneys in a manner determined equitable by the
department to schools and school districts in counties where
the county board of health has identified obesity or another
diet-related illness in youth as a priority in the board’s
community health needs assessment and health improvement plan.
Sec. 4. APPROPRIATION.
1. There is appropriated to the department of agriculture
and land stewardship for the fiscal year beginning July 1,
2019, and ending June 30, 2020, from the moneys available to
the state pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic
Security Act, Pub. L. No. 116-136, the following amount, or
so much thereof as is necessary, to be used for the purpose
designated:
For deposit in the local farm produce fund created in section
190A.12, as enacted in this Act:
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1,925,000
2. Notwithstanding sections 8.33 and 190A.12, moneys
appropriated in this section that remain unencumbered or
unobligated shall not revert and shall be transferred on
December 31, 2020, to the general fund of the state and are
appropriated to the economic development authority for the
fiscal year beginning July 1, 2020, and ending June 30, 2021,
for purposes related to assisting small businesses impacted by
the coronavirus.
Sec. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of immediate
importance, takes effect upon enactment.
Sec. 6. RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY. This Act, if approved by
the governor on or after July 1, 2020, applies retroactively
to June 30, 2020.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
This bill creates a local farm produce program to assist
schools and school districts purchasing fresh farm produce
directly from farmers or distributors of fresh farm produce
(Code chapter 190A). DALS may reimburse a school or school
district for expenditures on such products to the extent moneys
are available to support the program. The available moneys
would be allocated during the school year on a matching basis,
subject to a $5,000 cap. The bill also creates a local farm
produce fund to support the program.
The bill appropriates to the fund moneys available to
the state pursuant to the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief,
and Economic Security Act. However, any unencumbered or
unobligated moneys remaining on December 31, 2020, are
transferred to the general fund and appropriated to the
economic development authority to support small businesses.
The bill takes effect upon enactment, and if approved by the
governor after July 1, 2020, applies retroactively to July 1,
2020.
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