S.B. 282
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SENATE BILL NO. 282–SENATORS CANNIZZARO, SCHEIBLE,
PAZINA, CRUZ-CRAWFORD, NGUYEN; DALY, DOÑATE,
DONDERO LOOP, FLORES, OHRENSCHALL AND TAYLOR
MARCH 5, 2025
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Referred to Committee on Government Affairs
SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to food security.
(BDR 18-75)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No.
Effect on the State: Contains Appropriation not included
in Executive Budget.
~
EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to food; requiring the Department of Health and
Human Services to establish and administer the Grocery
Initiative to award grants of money and provide technical
assistance and other information to certain grocery stores
in this State for certain purposes; revising the duties of the
Council on Food Security; making an appropriation; and
providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law creates the Council on Food Security within the Department of 1
Health and Human Services which is charged with various duties relating to food 2
security. (NRS 232.4966, 232.4968) Section 3 of this bill requires the Department, 3
in coordination with the Council, to establish and administer the Grocery Initiative 4
to award grants of money and provide technical assistance and other information to 5
certain grocery stores in this State to expand access to healthy foods in food deserts 6
and areas at risk of becoming food deserts. To the extent money is available, 7
section 3 requires the Department to award grants of money to certain grocery 8
stores for certain purposes. 9
Section 5 of this bill requires the Department, to the extent money is available, 10
to: (1) provide technical assistance to any grocery store awarded a grant of money 11
from the Grocery Initiative and other small, independent grocery stores in this 12
State; and (2) make certain information and materials available on the Internet 13
website of the Department to assist the growth and development of grantees and 14
other grocery stores in this State. 15
Section 5 authorizes the Department to apply for and accept gifts, grants, 16
donations and contributions to carry out its duties pursuant to the provisions of 17
sections 2-5. 18
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Section 4 of this bill sets forth certain requirements for a grocery store to be 19
eligible to receive assistance from the Grocery Initiative. 20
Section 2 of this bill defines “food desert” for the purposes of sections 3 and 5 21
and the provisions of existing law relating to the Department. Section 6 of this bill 22
applies certain definitions in existing law relating to the Department to the 23
provisions of sections 2-5. 24
Section 7 of this bill requires the Council to research and develop 25
recommendations relating to food insecurity in urban and rural food deserts in this 26
State. Section 9 of this bill requires the Council to submit a written report to the 27
84th Session of the Legislature summarizing this research and recommendations. 28
Section 8 of this bill appropriates $10,000,000 to the Department for the 29
Grocery Initiative to award grants of money and provide technical assistance and 30
other information to grocery stores in this State pursuant to sections 3 and 5. 31
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Chapter 232 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 1
thereto the provisions set forth as sections 2 to 5, inclusive, of this 2
act. 3
Sec. 2. 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, for 4
the purposes of NRS 232.496 to 232.4969, inclusive, and sections 2 5
to 5, inclusive, of this act, a food desert is a census tract that in the 6
immediately preceding census meets one of the following: 7
(a) Poverty standards: 8
(1) At least 20 percent of households within the census tract 9
have a household income that falls below the federally designated 10
level signifying poverty; 11
(2) The census tract is not located within a metropolitan 12
statistical area, as defined by the United States Office of 13
Management and Budget, and the median family income within 14
the tract is 80 percent or less than the median household income 15
in this State; or 16
(3) The census tract is located within a metropolitan 17
statistical area, as defined by the United States Office of 18
Management and Budget, and the median family income within 19
the tract is 80 percent or less than the greater of the median 20
household income in this State or the median family income in the 21
metropolitan statistical area; and 22
(b) Population and food accessibility standards: 23
(1) The census tract is a rural tract and at least 33 percent 24
of the population of the census tract or 500 or more residents of 25
the census tract reside more than 10 miles from the nearest 26
grocery store; or 27
(2) The census tract is an urban tract and at least 33 28
percent of the population of the census tract or 500 or more 29
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residents of the census tract reside more than 0.5 miles from the 1
nearest grocery store. 2
2. The Council on Food Security may by regulation designate 3
as a food desert one or more existing areas that do not meet the 4
requirements set forth in subsection 1 based on data that includes, 5
without limitation, poverty levels and access to grocery stores. 6
3. As used in this section: 7
(a) “Block” means the smallest geographical unit whose 8
boundaries were designated by the Bureau of the Census of the 9
United States Department of Commerce in its topographically 10
integrated geographic encoding and referencing system. 11
(b) “Block group” means a combination of blocks whose 12
numbers begin with the same digit. 13
(c) “Census tract” means a combination of block groups. 14
(d) “Rural tract” means a census tract that is not an urban 15
tract. 16
(e) “Urban tract” means a census tract with a geographic 17
centroid located in an urban area designated by the Bureau of the 18
Census of the United States Department of Commerce. 19
Sec. 3. 1. The Department shall, in coordination with the 20
Council on Food Security, establish and administer the Grocery 21
Initiative to award grants of money and provide technical 22
assistance and other information to grocery stores in this State to 23
expand access to healthy foods in food deserts and any areas at 24
risk of becoming food deserts in this State. 25
2. The Department shall, to the extent money is available, 26
award grants of money from the Grocery Initiative established 27
pursuant to subsection 1 to a grocery store in this State for: 28
(a) Studies of market and site feasibility; 29
(b) Marketing and promotional materials; 30
(c) Paying the salaries or benefits of persons employed by the 31
grocery store; 32
(d) Paying the rent of the building or making a down payment 33
on the purchase of a building or other facility of the grocery store; 34
(e) Purchasing ownership of an existing grocery store to 35
establish a new grocery store; 36
(f) Capital improvements, planning, renovations, land 37
acquisition, demolition or equipment purchases; or 38
(g) Any other costs the Department determines are eligible for 39
a grant. 40
3. In addition to the provisions of subsection 2 and except as 41
otherwise provided in this subsection, the Department may award 42
grants of money from the Grocery Initiative to existing grocery 43
stores in this State for equipment upgrades. The award of a grant 44
of money pursuant to this subsection must prioritize equipment 45
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that is energy efficient. The Department may not award more than 1
20 percent of the total amount available in any fiscal year for the 2
Grocery Initiative to award grants of money pursuant to this 3
subsection. 4
4. The Department may establish: 5
(a) Limitations on the size of grocery stores which are eligible 6
to receive a grant, which may include, without limitation, 7
limitations based on the annual revenue or projected revenue of 8
the grocery store, the number of full-time employees of the grocery 9
store or the square footage of the grocery store; and 10
(b) Priorities for the award of grants from the Grocery 11
Initiative, which may include, without limitation, poverty levels 12
and median household income in the area, geographic diversity of 13
the area, local ownership, access to grocery stores in the area or 14
any other factors established by the Department. 15
5. The Director may, based upon the recommendations of the 16
Council on Food Security, adopt regulations to carry out the 17
provisions of this section. 18
Sec. 4. A grocery store is eligible to receive assistance from 19
the Grocery Initiative established by the Department pursuant to 20
section 3 of this act if the grocery store is an existing or planned 21
retail establishment, whether organized for profit or not for profit 22
and whether independently owned, cooperatively owned or owned 23
and operated by a local government, which: 24
1. Is principally devoted to the business of selling groceries, 25
including, without limitation, fresh fruits and vegetables; 26
2. In a county whose population is 100,000 or more, derives 27
or will derive not more than 30 percent of its gross revenue from 28
sales of tobacco and alcohol in any given year; 29
3. Accepts or will accept payment from benefits authorized 30
under Supplemental Nutrition Assistance or the Special 31
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and 32
Children established by 42 U.S.C. § 1786; and 33
4. Provides or will provide for the retail sale of a substantial 34
variety of perishable foods, including, without limitation, fresh or 35
frozen dairy products and fresh fruits, vegetable, meats, poultry 36
and fish. 37
Sec. 5. 1. To the extent money is available, the Department: 38
(a) Shall provide technical assistance to any person awarded a 39
grant from the Grocery Initiative and to other small, 40
independently owned grocery stores in this State to ensure the 41
long-term viability and business success of the grantee or 42
independent grocery store. The technical assistance may include, 43
without limitation, business planning, marketing, financing, 44
supply chain management and workforce development assistance. 45
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(b) Shall make available on the Internet website of the 1
Department information and materials to assist the growth and 2
development of grantees and other grocery stores in this State. 3
(c) May enter into contracts and other lawful agreements with 4
public or private entities to carry out the requirements of this 5
section. 6
2. The Department may apply for and accept gifts, grants, 7
donations and contributions from any source to carry out the 8
provisions of sections 2 to 5, inclusive, of this act. 9
Sec. 6. NRS 232.290 is hereby amended to read as follows: 10
232.290 As used in NRS 232.290 to 232.4983, inclusive, and 11
sections 2 to 5, inclusive, of this act, unless the context requires 12
otherwise: 13
1. “Department” means the Department of Health and Human 14
Services. 15
2. “Director” means the Director of the Department. 16
Sec. 7. NRS 232.4968 is hereby amended to read as follows: 17
232.4968 The Council on Food Security created by NRS 18
232.4966 shall: 19
1. Develop, coordinate and implement a food system that will: 20
(a) Partner with initiatives in economic development and social 21
determinants of health; 22
(b) Increase access to improved food resource programs; 23
(c) Increase participation in federal nutrition programs by 24
eligible households; and 25
(d) Increase capacity to produce, process, distribute and 26
purchase food in an affordable and sustainable manner. 27
2. Research and develop recommendations on community 28
gardens and urban farms, which must include, without limitation: 29
(a) Examinations of: 30
(1) Local and regional efforts to develop community gardens 31
and urban farms; 32
(2) Regulatory and policy barriers to the development of 33
community gardens and urban farms; and 34
(3) The potential effects of community gardens and urban 35
farms on economic development in this State; and 36
(b) Recommendations to: 37
(1) Promote the use of community gardens and urban farms 38
in this State; 39
(2) Strengthen local infrastructure for community gardens 40
and urban farms; and 41
(3) Promote entrepreneurial efforts to develop community 42
gardens and urban farms. 43
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3. Research and develop recommendations relating to food 1
insecurity in urban and rural food deserts in this State, which 2
may, without limitation: 3
(a) Include an exploration of: 4
(1) The reasons for current market failures and potential 5
solutions to such market failures; 6
(2) Geographic trends relating to food security in urban 7
and rural food deserts; 8
(3) The need for independent grocery stores; and 9
(4) Any disparities in ownership of grocery stores by 10
minority groups, women and persons with disabilities. 11
(b) Identify areas in this State at risk of becoming food deserts. 12
4. Hold public hearings to receive public comment and to 13
discuss issues related to food security in this State. 14
[4.] 5. Serve as a clearinghouse for the review and approval of 15
any events or projects initiated in the name of the Plan. 16
[5.] 6. Review and comment on any proposed federal, state or 17
local legislation and regulation that would affect the food policy 18
system of this State. 19
[6.] 7. Advise and inform the Governor on the food policy of 20
this State. 21
[7.] 8. Review grant proposals and alternative funding sources 22
as requested by the Director to provide recommendations for 23
funding the Plan. 24
[8.] 9. Develop new resources related to the Plan. 25
[9.] 10. Advise, assist and make recommendations to the 26
Director for the creation and administration of the Program. 27
[10.] 11. On or before January 31 of each year submit an 28
annual report to the Director and the Director of the Legislative 29
Counsel Bureau concerning the accomplishments and 30
recommendations of the Council concerning food security, 31
including, without limitation, any recommendations concerning 32
food deserts, community gardens and urban farms. 33
Sec. 8. 1. There is hereby appropriated from the State 34
General Fund to the Department of Health and Human Services the 35
sum of $10,000,000 for the Grocery Initiative established pursuant 36
to section 3 of this act to award grants of money and provide 37
technical assistance and other information and materials to grocery 38
stores in this State pursuant to sections 3, 4 and 5 of this act. The 39
Department may expend not more than 1 percent of the money 40
appropriated pursuant to this section for the administrative costs 41
associated with operating the program. 42
2. Any remaining balance of the appropriation made by 43
subsection 1 must not be committed for expenditure after June 30, 44
2027, by the entity to which the appropriation is made or any entity 45
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to which money from the appropriation is granted or otherwise 1
transferred in any manner, and any portion of the appropriated 2
money remaining must not be spent for any purpose after 3
September 17, 2027, by either the entity to which the money was 4
appropriated or the entity to which the money was subsequently 5
granted or transferred, and must be reverted to the State General 6
Fund on or before September 17, 2027. 7
Sec. 9. On or before February 1, 2027, the Council on Food 8
Security created by NRS 232.4966 shall submit to the Director of 9
the Legislative Counsel Bureau for transmittal to the 84th Session of 10
the Legislature a written report summarizing the research and 11
recommendations developed by the Council pursuant to subsection 12
3 of NRS 232.4968, as amended by section 7 of this act, relating to 13
food insecurity in urban and rural food deserts in this State. 14
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