Substitute House Bill No. 5146
Public Act No. 22-28
AN ACT CONCERNING FOOD DONATION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2022) (a) For the purposes of this
section:
(1) "Canned food" means any food that has been commercially
processed, prepared and hermetically sealed for human consumption,
including, but not limited to, a canned or preserved fruit or vegetable;
(2) "Food relief organization" means a public or private entity,
including, but not limited to, a community-based organization, food
bank, food pantry or soup kitchen, that, on a nonprofit basis and in the
ordinary course of such entity's business or operations, provides
nutritional assistance to individuals in this state who are in need of such
assistance, free of charge;
(3) "Perishable food" means any food, including, but not limited to, a
fresh, frozen or refrigerated bakery product, dairy product, fruit,
packaged meat, packaged seafood or vegetable, that may spoil or
otherwise become unfit for human consumption because of its nature,
physical condition or type; and
(4) "Supermarket" means (A) a retail food store occupying a total Substitute House Bill No. 5146
Public Act No. 22-28 2 of 5
retail sales area of at least three thousand five hundred square feet, or
(B) a large discount department store that (i) sells a complete line of
grocery merchandise, (ii) continuously offers for sale fresh produce and
meats, poultry, seafood, nuts and dairy products, (iii) maintains a
bakery, as defined in section 21a-151 of the general statutes, (iv) is
locally permitted as a class 3 food establishment, as defined in section
19a-36g of the general statutes, and (v) has registered at least one
weighing or measuring device pursuant to subsection (b) of section 43-
3 of the general statutes.
(b) An insurer that delivers, issues for delivery, renews, amends or
continues in this state a commercial risk insurance policy or rider to such
policy which provides coverage for the spoilage of canned food or
perishable food shall provide coverage to the same extent for canned
food or perishable food that is donated by a food relief organization or
a supermarket.
(c) To the extent a tax deduction or tax credit is allowed under any
provision of the general statutes for a donation described in subsection
(b) of this section, no supermarket that donates to a food relief
organization any canned food or perishable food and receives payment
from an insurer for such canned food or perishable food shall avail itself
of a tax deduction or tax credit for the amount of such payment.
Sec. 2. Section 52-557l of the general statutes is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2022):
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, any
person, including but not limited to a seller, farmer, processor,
distributor, wholesaler or retailer of food, who donates an item of food
for use or distribution by a nonprofit organization, nonprofit
corporation, political subdivision of the state or senior center, and any
nonprofit organization or nonprofit corporation that collects donated
food and distributes such food to other nonprofit organizations or Substitute House Bill No. 5146
Public Act No. 22-28 3 of 5
nonprofit corporations or a political subdivision of the state or senior
center free of charge or for a nominal fee, shall not be liable for civil
damages or criminal penalties resulting from the nature, age, condition
or packaging of the food, unless it is established that the donor, at the
time of making the donation, or the nonprofit organization or nonprofit
corporation, at the time of distributing the food, knew or had reasonable
grounds to believe that the food was (1) adulterated, as [defined]
described in section 21a-101, or (2) not fit for human consumption.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, any food
establishment classified as a class 3 or class 4 food establishment
pursuant to regulations adopted under section 19a-36h, that donates
perishable food for use or distribution by a temporary emergency
shelter in accordance with the provisions set forth in section 38a-313b
shall not be liable for civil damages or criminal penalties resulting from
the nature, age, condition or packaging of the food, unless it is
established that the donor, at the time of making the donation, knew or
had reasonable grounds to believe that the food was (1) embargoed or
ordered destroyed by the Department of Public Health or a local
director of health, or an authorized agent thereof, (2) adulterated, as
[defined] described in section 21a-101, or (3) not fit for human
consumption.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, any food
relief organization or supermarket that donates any canned food or
perishable food shall not be liable for civil damages or criminal penalties
resulting from the nature, age, condition or packaging of such canned
food or perishable food, unless it is established that such food relief
organization or supermarket, at the time such food relief organization
or supermarket donated such canned food or perishable food, knew or
had reasonable grounds to believe that such canned food or perishable
food was (1) embargoed or ordered destroyed by the Department of
Public Health or a local director of health, or an authorized agent Substitute House Bill No. 5146
Public Act No. 22-28 4 of 5
thereof, (2) adulterated, as described in section 21a-101, or (3) not fit for
human consumption. For the purposes of this subsection, "canned
food", "food relief organization", "perishable food" and "supermarket"
have the same meanings as provided in section 1 of this act.
Sec. 3. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a task force to
study implementation of a supermarket food donation program in this
state. The task force shall examine, and make recommendations
concerning, establishing a supermarket food donation program in this
state that (1) alleviates hunger, reduces food waste and supports the
operations of food relief organizations, as defined in subsection (a) of
section 1 of this act, and (2) ensures that all food donated as part of such
program is safe and fit for human consumption.
(b) The task force shall consist of the following members:
(1) One appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives,
who shall be a member of the General Assembly;
(2) One appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, who
shall be a member of the General Assembly;
(3) Three appointed by the majority leader of the House of
Representatives, one of whom shall be a representative of food
establishments doing business in this state that are classified as class 3
or class 4 food establishments under regulations adopted by the
Commissioner of Public Health pursuant to section 19a-36h of the
general statutes and two of whom shall be representatives of food relief
organizations, as defined in subsection (a) of section 1 of this act;
(4) Three appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, one of whom
shall be a representative of supermarkets doing business in this state
and two of whom shall be representatives of food relief organizations,
as defined in subsection (a) of section 1 of this act; Substitute House Bill No. 5146
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(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of
Representatives, who shall be a representative of a food relief
organization, as defined in subsection (a) of section 1 of this act;
(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, who shall be
a representative of a food relief organization, as defined in subsection
(a) of section 1 of this act;
(7) The Commissioner of Agriculture, or the commissioner's
designee;
(8) The Commissioner of Consumer Protection, or the commissioner's
designee; and
(9) The Commissioner of Public Health, or the commissioner's
designee.
(c) Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority.
(d) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president
pro tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force
from among the members of the task force.
(e) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to general law
shall serve as administrative staff of the task force.
(f) Not later than January 1, 2023, the task force shall submit a report
on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to general
law, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general
statutes. The task force shall terminate on the date that it submits such
report or January 1, 2023, whichever is later.