Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1027 Compare Versions

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1	1	81R4007 TRH-D
2	2	By: Watson S.B. No. 1027
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the establishment of an interagency farm-to-school
8	8	coordination task force.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Chapter 12, Agriculture Code, is amended by
11	11	adding Section 12.0026 to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 12.0026. INTERAGENCY FARM-TO-SCHOOL COORDINATION TASK
13	13	FORCE. (a) To promote a healthy diet for schoolchildren and the
14	14	business of small to mid-sized local farms and ranches, the
15	15	interagency farm-to-school coordination task force shall develop a
16	16	plan to facilitate the availability of locally grown food products
17	17	in public schools.
18	18	(b) The task force is composed of:
19	19	(1) a representative of:
20	20	(A) the department, appointed by the
21	21	commissioner;
22	22	(B) the Texas Education Agency, appointed by the
23	23	commissioner of education; and
24	24	(C) the Department of State Health Services,
25	25	appointed by the commissioner of that department; and
26	26	(2) at least one representative of each of the
27	27	following groups, appointed by the commissioner:
28	28	(A) fruit and vegetable producer organizations;
29	29	(B) school food service organizations;
30	30	(C) food distribution businesses;
31	31	(D) child nutrition and advocacy organizations;
32	32	(E) parent organizations;
33	33	(F) educational institutions that conduct
34	34	research in the areas of agriculture and nutrition; and
35	35	(G) health nutrition educators who serve school
36	36	districts.
37	37	(c) A member of the task force serves at the will of the
38	38	official who appointed the member.
39	39	(d) The representative of the department serves as
40	40	presiding officer. The task force may elect other necessary
41	41	officers from its members.
42	42	(e) The task force shall meet at the call of the presiding
43	43	officer.
44	44	(f) The agency whose commissioner appoints a member is
45	45	responsible for the expenses of a member's service on the task
46	46	force. A member of the task force is not entitled to additional
47	47	compensation for serving on the task force.
48	48	(g) Each appropriate agency or group represented on the task
49	49	force shall provide the personnel and resources necessary to
50	50	implement a task force measure under this section.
51	51	(h) Subject to available funding, the task force shall:
52	52	(1) design education resources on nutrition and food
53	53	education to be used by schools and school districts;
54	54	(2) expand food-focused experiential education
55	55	programs;
56	56	(3) create a grant program funded by the department
57	57	that allows schools and school districts to recover the costs
58	58	associated with purchasing locally grown food products;
59	59	(4) develop a database of available locally grown food
60	60	products for use by school food service agencies that includes
61	61	contact and purchasing information for the products;
62	62	(5) design and implement training programs to enable
63	63	local farmers and ranchers to market their products to schools and
64	64	school districts, including programs related to:
65	65	(A) crop production;
66	66	(B) marketing of crops;
67	67	(C) postharvest handling of crops;
68	68	(D) food safety;
69	69	(E) business management;
70	70	(F) liability and risk management; and
71	71	(G) other topics deemed appropriate by the task
72	72	force;
73	73	(6) advise schools and school districts on methods by
74	74	which a school or school district may improve its facilities to
75	75	allow for the use of minimally processed, fresh, and locally
76	76	produced foods in school meals;
77	77	(7) provide technical assistance to school food
78	78	service agencies to establish procedures, recipes, menu rotations,
79	79	and other internal processes that accommodate the use of locally
80	80	grown foods in public schools;
81	81	(8) offer advanced skills development training to
82	82	school food service employees regarding the proper methods of
83	83	handling, preparing, and serving locally grown foods; and
84	84	(9) conduct any other activity considered by the task
85	85	force as necessary to achieve its goals under this section.
86	86	(i) The task force may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and
87	87	donations from public and private entities to use for the purposes
88	88	of this section.
89	89	SECTION 2. (a) Not later than December 1, 2009, the
90	90	Department of Agriculture shall establish the interagency
91	91	farm-to-school coordination task force as required by Section
92	92	12.0026, Agriculture Code, as added by this Act.
93	93	(b) Not later than February 1, 2010, the commissioners of
94	94	the Department of Agriculture, the Texas Education Agency, and the
95	95	Department of State Health Services shall appoint members of the
96	96	interagency farm-to-school coordination task force, as required by
97	97	Section 12.0026, Agriculture Code, as added by this Act.
98	98	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.