S.B. 233
- *SB233*
SENATE BILL NO. 233–SENATORS DOÑATE AND FLORES
FEBRUARY 25, 2025
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Referred to Committee on Natural Resources
SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to agriculture.
(BDR 51-704)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.
Effect on the State: Contains Appropriation not included
in Executive Budget.
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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to agriculture; requiring the Director of the State
Department of Agriculture to establish a program to
certify certain food and farm products as grown or
produced in Nevada and to certify the vendors of such
food or farm products; requiring the State Department of
Agriculture to establish a Task Force on Farm Labor;
making an appropriation; and providing other matters
properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law authorizes the Director of the State Department of Agriculture to 1
establish a program for the certification of producers and handlers of organic 2
agricultural products. (NRS 587.800) Section 1 of this bill requires the Director to 3
establish a program to certify: (1) food and farm products as grown or produced in 4
Nevada; and (2) vendors of food or farm products grown or produced in Nevada. In 5
order for a vendor to be certified by the program, section 1 requires that 51 percent 6
or more of the food or farm products sold by the vendor be grown or produced in 7
Nevada. 8
Section 2 of this bill requires the State Department of Agriculture to establish a 9
Task Force on Farm Labor to study issues relating to the farm labor workforce in 10
this State, including, without limitation, workforce development and visa programs 11
for farmworkers. Section 2 also: (1) prescribes the membership and duties of the 12
Task Force; (2) requires the Task Force to submit a written report describing the 13
activities, findings, conclusions and recommendations of the Task Force for 14
transmittal to the 84th Session of the Legislature; and (3) authorizes the Task Force 15
to request the drafting of not more than two legislative measures for prefiling on or 16
before the first day of the regular session of the 2027 Legislature. 17
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Section 3 of this bill makes an appropriation of $800,000 to the Nutritious 18
Food Purchase Account for the Director of the State Department of Agriculture to 19
carry out the Home Feeds Nevada Agriculture Food Purchase Program. 20
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Chapter 587 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 1
thereto a new section to read as follows: 2
1. The Director shall establish a program to certify: 3
(a) Food and farm products as grown or produced in Nevada; 4
and 5
(b) Vendors of food or farm products grown or produced in 6
Nevada, which may include, without limitation, small farms, food 7
distributors, farmers’ markets, food cooperatives, restaurants and 8
other businesses. 9
2. To be certified as a vendor by the program established 10
pursuant to subsection 1, 51 percent or more of the food or farm 11
products sold by a vendor must be grown or produced in this State. 12
3. The Director may not charge a fee to certify food or farm 13
products or vendors thereof in accordance with the program 14
established pursuant to subsection 1. 15
4. The Director shall adopt regulations to carry out this 16
section, which may include, without limitation: 17
(a) Standards for the certification of food and farm products 18
as grown or produced in this State. For the purposes of such 19
standards, the Director may include food and farm products that 20
are processed, packaged, inspected or distributed in states other 21
than Nevada. 22
(b) The criteria for a person to participate in the program. 23
(c) Requirements for the use of a seal of certification for food 24
and farm products grown or produced in this State and vendors 25
thereof. 26
5. The Director may enter into contracts or other agreements 27
with nonprofit organizations to establish and carry out the 28
provisions of this section. 29
6. As used in this section: 30
(a) “Farm products” has the meaning ascribed to it in 31
NRS 576.0155. 32
(b) “Food” means any food, drink, confection, beverage, or 33
any component in the preparation or manufacture thereof, 34
intended for ultimate human consumption, stored, being prepared 35
or manufactured, displayed, offered for sale, sold or served to the 36
public. 37
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Sec. 2. 1. The State Department of Agriculture shall 1
establish a Task Force on Farm Labor to conduct a study during the 2
2025-2026 interim concerning issues relating to the farm labor 3
workforce in this State, including, without limitation, workforce 4
development and visa programs for farmworkers. 5
2. The Task Force must be composed of the following 6
members: 7
(a) One representative of the State Department of Agriculture, 8
appointed by the Director of the Department; 9
(b) One representative of the Department of Employment, 10
Training and Rehabilitation, appointed by the Director of the 11
Department; 12
(c) Two owners of farms in this State, appointed by the 13
Governor; 14
(d) Two representatives of farmworkers or farmworker 15
advocacy groups, appointed by the Governor; and 16
(e) One representative of the agricultural sector in this State, 17
appointed by the Governor. 18
3. During the 2025-2026 interim, the Task Force shall study 19
issues relating to the farm labor workforce in this State, including, 20
without limitation: 21
(a) Challenges and barriers facing farmworkers and strategies to 22
attract, train and retain farm labor; and 23
(b) Issues relating to the federal H-2A program, including, 24
without limitation, best practices to support the expansion of the 25
program in this State. 26
4. The Task Force shall, at its first meeting, elect a Chair and 27
Vice Chair from among its members. 28
5. The Task Force shall meet at the call of the Chair. A 29
majority of the Task Force constitutes a quorum for the transaction 30
of business, and a majority of those members present at any meeting 31
is sufficient for any official action taken by the Task Force. 32
6. The members of the Task Force serve without compensation 33
and are not entitled to the per diem and travel expenses provided for 34
state officers and employees generally. 35
7. On or before December 1, 2026, the Task Force shall 36
prepare and submit a written report describing the activities, 37
findings, conclusions and recommendations of the Task Force to the 38
Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau for transmittal to the 39
84th Session of the Legislature. 40
8. The Task Force may request the drafting of not more than 41
two legislative measures which relate to matters within the scope of 42
the Task Force. The request must be submitted to the Legislative 43
Counsel on or before December 1, 2026, and must be on a form 44
prescribed by the Legislative Counsel. A legislative measure 45
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requested pursuant to this subsection must be prefiled on or before 1
the first day of the regular session of the 84th Session of the 2
Legislature. A legislative measure that is not prefiled on or before 3
that day shall be deemed withdrawn. 4
Sec. 3. 1. There is hereby appropriated from the State 5
General Fund to the Nutritious Food Purchase Account created by 6
NRS 561.505 the sum of $800,000 for use by the Director of the 7
State Department of Agriculture to carry out the Home Feeds 8
Nevada Agriculture Food Purchase Program established pursuant to 9
NRS 561.515. 10
2. Any remaining balance of the appropriation made by 11
subsection 1 must not be committed for expenditure after June 30, 12
2027, by the entity to which the appropriation is made or any entity 13
to which money from the appropriation is granted or otherwise 14
transferred in any manner, and any portion of the appropriated 15
money remaining must not be spent for any purpose after 16
September 17, 2027, by either the entity to which the money was 17
appropriated or the entity to which the money was subsequently 18
granted or transferred, and must be reverted to the State General 19
Fund on or before September 17, 2027. 20
Sec. 4. This act becomes effective on July 1, 2025. 21
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