Bill Text: TX HB4022 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to a study by the Health and Human Services Commission on access to healthy foods.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-03-31 - Referred to Human Services [HB4022 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HB4022-Introduced.html
| 85R13327 JG-D | ||
| By: Rodriguez of Travis | H.B. No. 4022 | |
|
|
||
|
|
||
| relating to a study by the Health and Human Services Commission on | ||
| access to healthy foods. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. (a) The Health and Human Services Commission | ||
| shall conduct a study on access to healthy foods in this state. The | ||
| commission may establish a work group to assist in conducting the | ||
| study. The work group may include representatives from other state | ||
| agencies, institutions of higher education, local governmental | ||
| entities, food councils, and other groups working to address food | ||
| access issues. | ||
| (b) The study conducted under Subsection (a) of this section | ||
| must include: | ||
| (1) an overview of access to healthy foods in this | ||
| state, including a breakdown of access to healthy foods by: | ||
| (A) urban areas; | ||
| (B) rural areas; and | ||
| (C) other geographic categories in this state; | ||
| (2) an overview of current programs related to | ||
| increasing access to healthy foods; | ||
| (3) an identification of best practices and successful | ||
| policies for increasing access to healthy foods and recommendations | ||
| for expanding those practices and policies in both urban and rural | ||
| areas; | ||
| (4) an examination of how economic, health, housing, | ||
| or transportation circumstances affect a person's or community's | ||
| access to healthy foods; | ||
| (5) an examination of food-purchasing practices, | ||
| including: | ||
| (A) the relation between where a person lives and | ||
| where that persons shops for food; | ||
| (B) the relation between where a person works and | ||
| where that person shops for food; | ||
| (C) the extent to which geographical distance | ||
| from a retail food store factors into a person's decision to shop at | ||
| that retail food store; | ||
| (D) the factors a person considers when choosing | ||
| to shop at a retail food store, including: | ||
| (i) the price of food; | ||
| (ii) the quality of food; | ||
| (iii) the type of food; | ||
| (iv) the convenience of shopping at the | ||
| retail food store; and | ||
| (v) any societal or communal factors; | ||
| (E) the price a person is willing to pay for food | ||
| in relation to its convenience, including the price a person is | ||
| willing to pay for food delivery services to avoid traffic or save | ||
| time; | ||
| (F) the relationship between household income | ||
| and food-purchasing practices; | ||
| (G) the preferred methods that people use to | ||
| travel to retail food stores, including a breakdown by county; and | ||
| (H) other factors, such as environment, culture, | ||
| and income, that affect food-purchasing practices; and | ||
| (6) an evaluation of the benefits of implementing an | ||
| online purchasing program for persons participating in the federal | ||
| supplemental nutrition assistance program operated under 7 U.S.C. | ||
| Section 2011 et seq. and how an online purchasing program will | ||
| impact those persons. | ||
| (c) Not later than January 1, 2019, the Health and Human | ||
| Services Commission shall submit a written report to the | ||
| legislature with the results of the study required under Subsection | ||
| (a) of this section and recommendations for improving access to | ||
| healthy foods based on the findings of that study. | ||
| (d) This section expires September 1, 2019. | ||
| SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. | ||
