LCO No. 1736 1 of 2
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 560
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 1736
Referred to Committee on AGING
Introduced by:
(AGE)
AN ACT INCREASING THE VALUE OF FARMERS' MARKET
VOUCHER BOOKS FOR SE NIOR CITIZENS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 22-6q of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 2
1, 2019): 3
(a) There is established the Connecticut Farmers' Market/Senior 4
Nutrition Program which shall be provided for from funds available to 5
the commissioner and from other sources as such funds may become 6
available. The program shall supply Connecticut-grown fresh produce 7
to senior participants through the distribution of vouchers that are 8
redeemable only at designated Connecticut farmers' markets. The 9
Commissioner of Agriculture shall establish the dollar value of voucher 10
books, provided such value shall not be less than twenty-five dollars 11
worth of vouchers for each senior participant. For purposes of this 12
section, a "senior participant" is defined as a person who is sixty years 13
of age or older and is currently residing in [elderly] housing for elderly 14
persons, or is a participant of a registered congregate meal site, or has 15 Raised Bill No. 560
LCO No. 1736 2 of 2
been identified by a municipal [elderly] agent for elderly persons as 16
being at nutritional risk. The program is designed to provide both a 17
supplemental source of fresh produce for the dietary needs of [seniors] 18
senior participants who are judged to be at nutritional risk and to 19
stimulate an increased demand for Connecticut-grown produce at 20
Connecticut farmers' markets. 21
Sec. 2. (Effective July 1, 2019) The sum of two hundred eighty-two 22
thousand dollars is appropriated to the Department of Agriculture from 23
the General Fund, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, to increase the 24
dollar value of Connecticut Farmers' Market/Senior Nutrition Program 25
voucher books to twenty-five dollars per senior participant and to ensure 26
that a sufficient number of vouchers are available. 27
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2019 22-6q(a)
Sec. 2 July 1, 2019 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To increase to twenty-five dollars the value of voucher books each
eligible senior citizen can receive toward purchases at farmers'
markets.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
not underlined.]