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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5337
February Session, 2022
LCO No. 2435
Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES
Introduced by:
(HS)
AN ACT CONCERNING A "FOOD IS MEDICINE TASK FORCE" AND
HEALTHY EATING INCENTIVES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a 1
"Connecticut Food is Medicine" task force to study ways to improve 2
health outcomes for needy individuals and families through nutritional 3
assistance. Such study shall include, but not be limited to, establishing 4
incentives for recipients of supplemental nutrition assistance to 5
purchase more fresh fruit and vegetables and encouraging more 6
farmers' markets to participate in nutritional assistance programs. 7
(b) The task force shall consist of the following members: 8
(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, 9
one of whom has expertise in nutritional assistance programs and one 10
of whom has expertise in the health benefits of consuming more fresh 11
fruit and vegetables; 12
(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate; 13 Raised Bill No. 5337
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(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of 14
Representatives; 15
(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; 16
(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of 17
Representatives; 18
(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; 19
(7) The Commissioner of Agriculture, or the commissioner's 20
designee; 21
(8) The Commissioner of Social Services, or the commissioner's 22
designee; 23
(9) The Commissioner of Public Health, or the commissioner's 24
designee; 25
(10) The Commissioner of Early Childhood, or the commissioner's 26
designee; and 27
(11) The executive director of the Commission on Women, Children, 28
Seniors, Equity and Opportunity, or the executive director's designee. 29
(c) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivisions (1) to 30
(6), inclusive, of subsection (b) of this section may be a member of the 31
General Assembly. 32
(d) All initial appointments to the task force shall be made not later 33
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall 34
be filled by the appointing authority. 35
(e) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro 36
tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force from 37
among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule 38
the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty 39
days after the effective date of this section. 40 Raised Bill No. 5337
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(f) The administrative staff of the Commission on Women, Children, 41
Seniors, Equity and Opportunity shall serve as administrative staff of 42
the task force. 43
(g) Not later than January 1, 2023, the task force shall submit a report 44
on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committees 45
of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to 46
children, education, the environment, human services, public health 47
and appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, in accordance 48
with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. The task 49
force shall terminate on the date that it submits such report or January 50
1, 2023, whichever is later. 51
Sec. 2. (Effective from passage) (a) The Commissioners of Agriculture, 52
Public Health and Social Services, shall, to the extent permissible under 53
federal law and within available appropriations, develop a strategy to 54
increase the numbers of needy individuals and families who purchase 55
fresh fruit and vegetables at farmers' markets. 56
(b) The strategy shall include, but not be limited to, the (1) 57
establishment of a health incentives program whereby recipients of 58
supplemental nutritional assistance receive a match in supplemental 59
nutrition assistance dollars for every such dollar they spend on fresh 60
vegetables and fruits at farmers' markets; and (2) encouragement of 61
expanded enrollment in the Connecticut Farmers' Market/Women, 62
Infants and Children Nutrition Program, as established in section 22-6h 63
of the general statutes, by establishing office hours for the program at 64
Head Start and other early childhood centers. 65
(c) Not later than January 1, 2023, the commissioners shall report, in 66
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, on results of 67
implementation of the strategy to the joint standing committees of the 68
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children, 69
education, the environment, human services, public health and 70
appropriations and the budgets of state agencies. The report shall 71
include, but not be limited to, (1) any increase in sales at farmers' 72 Raised Bill No. 5337
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markets related to implementation of the strategy, (2) any increase in 73
enrollment in the Connecticut Farmers' Market/Women, Infants and 74
Children Nutrition Program, and (3) the fiscal impact on the state of 75
implementing the strategy.76
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 from passage New section
Statement of Purpose:
To establish a task force to study ways to expand nutritional assistance
and create incentives for healthier eating.
[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.]