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.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

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

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
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.