Bill Text: NJ S3326 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes State as purchaser of last resort for produce; directs Department of Agriculture to establish program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-03 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Economic Growth Committee [S3326 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S3326-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator DOUGLAS J. STEINHARDT
District 23 (Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes State as purchaser of last resort for produce; directs Department of Agriculture to establish program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning State purchase of produce and supplementing Title 4 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Department of Agriculture shall establish and implement, in cooperation with the Department of Health, a program for the purchase by the State of unsold produce from farmers and the distribution of the purchased produce to food banks, homeless shelters, senior citizen centers, adult day care centers, veterans organizations, or other appropriate nonprofit recipients that provide food or meals to the public.
b. Under the program, the department shall:
(1) purchase at a reasonable market price, as determined by the department, as a purchaser of last resort on behalf of the State, produce from a participating farmer that the farmer has been unable to sell in a timely manner to any other outlet or purchaser, and provide for its distribution to participating recipients; and
(2) establish criteria and requirements for participation in the program by farmers, and for a participating food bank, homeless shelter, senior citizen center, adult day care center, veterans organizations, or other appropriate nonprofit recipient.
c. The department shall ensure that the program is operated in compliance with any Department of Health rules, regulations, or guidelines concerning the purchase and distribution of food which the Department of Health determines to be relevant for the program.
d. The Secretary of Agriculture shall include with the annual budget request for the Department of Agriculture a request for funds sufficient to implement the program and provide for the purchases and distribution thereof through the program.
e. The department shall adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), any rules or regulations necessary for the implementation of this act.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
The bill establishes the State as a buyer of last resort of unsold produce. The bill directs the Department of Agriculture (DOA) to establish and implement, in cooperation with the Department of Health (DOH), a program for the purchase by the State of unsold produce from farmers and the distribution of the purchased produce to food banks, homeless shelters, senior citizen centers, adult day care centers, veterans organizations, and any other appropriate nonprofit recipients that provide food or meals to the public.
The DOA would purchase the produce for a reasonable market price, as determined by the department, from a participating farmer who has been unable to sell the produce in a timely manner to any other outlet or purchaser, and provide for its distribution to recipients participating in the program. The DOA would ensure compliance with any DOH rules, regulations, or guidelines concerning the purchase and distribution of food which the DOH determines to be relevant for the program.
Finally, the DOA is required to adopt any regulations necessary to implement the program and to include in its annual budget request a request for funds sufficient to implement the program and provide for the purchases and distribution thereof through the program.
