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 |
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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. |