Bill Text: MS SB2799 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: "Healthy Food Financing Act"; establish under Mississippi Development Authority.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2014-02-04 - Died In Committee [SB2799 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2014-SB2799-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2014 Regular Session
To: Finance
By: Senator(s) Simmons (13th)
Senate Bill 2799
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE "HEALTHY FOOD FINANCING ACT"; TO AUTHORIZE AND DIRECT THE MISSISSIPPI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY IN COOPERATION WITH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR PARTNERS TO ESTABLISH A FINANCING PROGRAM TO PROVIDE FUNDING TO RETAILERS TO CONSTRUCT, REHABILITATE OR EXPAND GROCERY STORES IN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES IN URBAN AND RURAL COMMUNITIES; TO PROVIDE DEFINITIONS; TO PROVIDE STANDARDS FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known as the "Healthy Food Financing Act." The purpose of the act is to establish a statewide program to increase the availability of fresh and nutritious food, including fruits and vegetables, in underserved communities by providing financing for retailers to open, renovate or expand grocery stores.
SECTION 2. As used in this act:
(a) "Agency" means the Mississippi Development Authority.
(b) "Grocery store" means a for-profit or not-for-profit self-service retail establishment that primarily sells meat, seafood, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, dry groceries, household products, and sundries.
(c) "Financing" means traditional loans and grants and/or forgivable loans.
(d) "Underserved communities," for the purpose of this policy, an underserved community is an area with low supermarket access that must either: (i) be a census tract determined to be an area with low access by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as identified in the USDA's Food Access Research Atlas, or (ii) be identified as having low access to a supermarket or grocery store through a methodology that has been adopted for use by another governmental or philanthropic healthy food initiative.
(e) "Low-Income community" refers to any population census tract that meets one of the following criteria as reported in the most recently completed decennial census published by the U.S. Bureau of the Census: (a) the poverty rate for census tract is at least twenty percent (20%), or (b) in the case of a low income community located: outside of a metropolitan area, the Median Family Income (MFI) for such tract does not exceed eighty percent (80%) of statewide MFI, or within a metropolitan area, the MFI for such tract does not exceed eighty percent (80%) of the greater of statewide MFI or metropolitan area MFI, or within a possession of the United States, the MFI does not exceed eighty percent (80%) of possession wide median family income.
(f) "Moderate Income Community" refers to any population whose incomes are between eighty-one percent (81%) and ninety-five percent (95%) of the median income for the area.
SECTION 3. Healthy Food Financing Fund. There is hereby established the Healthy Food Financing Fund, which shall be comprised of funding for the purpose of expanding access to fresh produce and other nutritious foods in underserved communities by offering financing for the construction or expansion of grocery stores. Monies in the fund shall be expended upon appropriation by the Legislature, and shall be used, to the extent practicable, to leverage other funding. Grants or forgivable loans should comprise a minimum of twenty-five percent (25%) of the fund.
SECTION 4. Healthy Food Financing Fund Program. The Mississippi Development Authority, in cooperation with public and private sector partners, shall establish a financing program to provide funding to retailers to construct, rehabilitate or expand grocery stores in underserved communities in both urban and rural communities.
(a) Administration of program.
(i) The agency may contract with one or more qualified nonprofit organizations or community development financial institutions to administer this program through a public-private partnership. These organizations will establish program guidelines, raise matching funds, promote the program statewide, evaluate applicants, underwrite and disburse grants and loans, and monitor compliance and impact. The agency may develop rules, regulations or other procedures to carry out the program to meet the intent of this chapter. At least ten percent (10%) of funding must be designated for administrative funds to launch and operate, or operations resources must be adequately provided for from other budgets or in-kind resources;
(ii) The agency shall report annually to the Legislature on projects funded, the geographic distribution of the projects, and the costs and outcomes of the program (including the number and type of jobs created and health impact of the project).
(b) Project eligibility for funding. Program administrators will create eligibility guidelines and provide funding through an application process. Projects must be located in an underserved community and primarily serve low- to moderate-income residents. Projects eligible for funding are:
(i) Construction of new grocery stores; and
(ii) Store renovations, expansion, and infrastructure upgrades that improve the availability and quality of fresh produce and other healthy foods.
(c) Qualifications for receiving funding. An applicant for funding may be a for-profit or not-for-profit entity, including, but not limited to, a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, cooperative, nonprofit organization, nonprofit community development entity, university, or government entity. An applicant for funding must:
(i) Demonstrate the capacity to successfully implement the project and the likelihood that the project will be economically self-sustaining;
(ii) Demonstrate the ability to repay the debt;
(iii) Agree, for period of at least five (5) years, to comply with the following conditions;
(iv) To accept the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits;
(v) To apply to accept the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and benefits and accept WIC benefits, if eligible;
(vi) Projects must allocate at least thirty percent (30%) of food retail space for the sale of perishable items which may include dairy, fresh produce, fresh meats, poultry, fish or these same foods frozen. In some cases the square footage requirements described above may be waived if the retailer is selling nonprepared and perishable foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, but cannot accommodate a full line of grocery products due to store format issue;
(vii) To comply with all data collection and reporting requirements established by the agency; and
(viii) To promote the hiring of local residents.
(d) Criteria for selecting projects for funding. In determining which qualified projects to fund, the department/agency shall consider:
(i) The level of need in the area to be served;
(ii) The degree to which the project requires an investment of public funding to move forward, create impact, or be competitive, and the level of need in the area to be served;
(iii) The degree to which the project will have a positive economic impact on the underserved community, including by creating or retaining jobs for local residents; and
(iv) Other criteria the agency determines to be consistent with the purposes of this act.
(e) Eligible costs. Funding made available for projects may be used for the following purposes:
(i) Site acquisition and preparation;
(ii) Construction and build-out costs;
(iii) Equipment and furnishings;
(iv) Soft costs such as workforce training or security;
(v) Pre-development costs such as market studies and appraisals;
(vi) Energy-efficiency measures; and
(vii) Working capital for first-time inventory and start-up costs.
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2014.
