Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1485 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R17154 AJZ-F
2	2	By: Rodriguez of Travis, Harless, Miles, H.B. No. 1485
3	3	Turner of Tarrant, Isaac, et al.
4	4	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1485:
5	5	By: Button C.S.H.B. No. 1485
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to the establishment of a grocery access investment fund
11	11	program.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Title 2, Agriculture Code, is amended by adding
14	14	Chapter 26 to read as follows:
15	15	CHAPTER 26. TEXAS GROCERY ACCESS INVESTMENT FUND
16	16	Sec. 26.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
17	17	(1) "Community development financial institution" has
18	18	the meaning assigned by 12 U.S.C. Section 4702.
19	19	(2) "Financing" means a loan, grant, or forgivable
20	20	loan.
21	21	(3) "Fund" means the Texas grocery access investment
22	22	fund established by this chapter.
23	23	(4) "Grocery store" means a self-service retail store
24	24	that primarily sells meat, seafood, fruits, vegetables, dairy
25	25	products, dry groceries, household products, and sundries.
26	26	(5) "Low-income area" means a census tract, based on
27	27	the most recent information published by the United States Bureau
28	28	of the Census, in which the poverty rate is 20 percent or higher or
29	29	the median family income is at or below 81 percent of the median
30	30	family income for the state or the metropolitan statistical area.
31	31	(6) "Moderate-income area" means a census tract, based
32	32	on the most recent information published by the United States
33	33	Bureau of the Census, in which the median family income is between
34	34	81 and 95 percent of the area median family income for the state or
35	35	the metropolitan statistical area.
36	36	(7) "Program" means the Texas grocery access
37	37	investment fund program authorized by this chapter.
38	38	(8) "Supplemental nutrition assistance program" means
39	39	the nutritional assistance program formerly referred to as the food
40	40	stamp program.
41	41	(9) "Underserved area" means a census tract, based on
42	42	the most recent information published by the United States Bureau
43	43	of the Census, that has been determined to be an area with low
44	44	supermarket access by:
45	45	(A) the United States Department of Agriculture,
46	46	as identified by the Food Access Research Atlas published by the
47	47	United States Department of Agriculture; or
48	48	(B) another governmental or philanthropic
49	49	healthy food initiative.
50	50	(10) "WIC program" means the federal special
51	51	supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children
52	52	authorized by 42 U.S.C. Section 1786.
53	53	Sec. 26.002. TEXAS GROCERY ACCESS INVESTMENT FUND PROGRAM.
54	54	(a) The department, in cooperation with public and private sector
55	55	partners, shall establish the Texas grocery access investment fund
56	56	program to provide financing to construct, rehabilitate, or expand
57	57	grocery stores in underserved low-income and moderate-income areas
58	58	in this state.
59	59	(b) The fund is a trust fund outside the treasury with the
60	60	comptroller and administered by the department.
61	61	(c) The fund is composed of:
62	62	(1) money appropriated to the fund by the legislature;
63	63	(2) federal, state, or private grants or loans;
64	64	(3) money received as a result of federal tax credits;
65	65	and
66	66	(4) any other type of financial assistance.
67	67	(d) Money in the fund may be appropriated only to the
68	68	department for the purposes of establishing the program authorized
69	69	by this chapter. Not less than 25 percent of the money in the fund
70	70	shall be used to provide grants or forgivable loans distributed
71	71	under the program. Not more than 10 percent of the money in the fund
72	72	may be reserved for administrative or operational costs of
73	73	operating the program, unless the costs are covered by another
74	74	budget or in-kind contributions.
75	75	Sec. 26.003. ADMINISTRATION OF TEXAS GROCERY ACCESS
76	76	INVESTMENT FUND PROGRAM. (a) The department shall contract with
77	77	one or more qualified nonprofit organizations or community
78	78	development financial institutions to administer the program
79	79	through a public-private partnership.
80	80	(b) A nonprofit organization or community development
81	81	financial institution contracted under Subsection (a) shall
82	82	establish program guidelines, raise matching funds, promote the
83	83	program statewide, evaluate applicants, underwrite and disburse
84	84	grants and loans, and monitor compliance with and the impact of the
85	85	program.
86	86	(c) The department shall establish rules or other
87	87	procedures as necessary to administer this chapter.
88	88	(d) The department shall establish monitoring and
89	89	accountability mechanisms for projects receiving financing under
90	90	the program and shall report annually to the legislature. The
91	91	report must include information regarding the projects that are
92	92	funded, the geographic distribution of the projects, the costs of
93	93	start-up and administration of the program, and the outcomes of the
94	94	projects, including the number and types of jobs created as a result
95	95	of the program and the health impact of the program.
96	96	(e) The department shall create project eligibility
97	97	guidelines and provide financing through an application process.
98	98	Projects must be located in an underserved area and primarily serve
99	99	low-income or moderate-income areas. Projects eligible for
100	100	financing include:
101	101	(1) constructing a new grocery store; and
102	102	(2) improving an existing grocery store, including
103	103	upgrading the store's infrastructure, renovating the store, or
104	104	expanding the store to improve the availability and quality of
105	105	fresh produce and other healthy food.
106	106	(f) An applicant for financing may be a for-profit or
107	107	nonprofit entity, including a sole proprietorship, partnership,
108	108	limited liability company, corporation, cooperative, nonprofit
109	109	organization, nonprofit community development entity, university,
110	110	or government entity. An applicant for financing must:
111	111	(1) demonstrate the capacity to successfully
112	112	implement the project and the likelihood that the project will be
113	113	economically self-sustaining;
114	114	(2) demonstrate the ability to repay any loan required
115	115	to be repaid; and
116	116	(3) agree, for a period of five years, to:
117	117	(A) accept benefits under the WIC program and the
118	118	supplemental nutrition assistance program;
119	119	(B) allocate 30 percent of the retail space for
120	120	the sale of perishable foods, which may include whole grains, fresh
121	121	produce, meat, poultry, seafood, and fresh or frozen dairy
122	122	products;
123	123	(C) comply with all data collection and reporting
124	124	requirements established by the department;
125	125	(D) promote the sale of fresh produce, including
126	126	Texas-grown fruits and vegetables, and fresh Texas-raised meat,
127	127	poultry, and seafood products; and
128	128	(E) promote the hiring of local residents.
129	129	(g) In determining which qualified projects to finance, the
130	130	department shall consider:
131	131	(1) the level of need in the area to be served;
132	132	(2) the amount of public funding required to make the
133	133	project move forward, create impact, or be competitive;
134	134	(3) the degree to which the project will have a
135	135	positive economic impact on the underserved area, including by
136	136	creating or retaining jobs for local residents;
137	137	(4) the degree to which the project will participate
138	138	in state and local health initiatives to educate consumers on
139	139	nutrition and promote healthy eating, including Texas A&M AgriLife
140	140	Extension Service initiatives; and
141	141	(5) any other criteria the department considers
142	142	necessary or appropriate.
143	143	(h) A recipient of financing may use funds received for the
144	144	following purposes:
145	145	(1) site acquisition and preparation;
146	146	(2) construction and build-out costs;
147	147	(3) equipment and furnishings;
148	148	(4) employee training or security;
149	149	(5) predevelopment costs, including market studies
150	150	and appraisals;
151	151	(6) energy efficiency measures; and
152	152	(7) working capital for initial inventory and start-up
153	153	costs.
154	154	SECTION 2. Not later than December 1, 2015, the Department
155	155	of Agriculture shall adopt rules to administer Chapter 26,
156	156	Agriculture Code, as added by this Act.
157	157	SECTION 3. Not later than December 15, 2015, the Department
158	158	of Agriculture shall contract with one or more nonprofit
159	159	organizations or community development financial institutions as
160	160	provided by Section 26.003, Agriculture Code, as added by this Act.
161	161	SECTION 4. Not later than January 15, 2016, the Department
162	162	of Agriculture shall transfer money to the Texas grocery access
163	163	investment fund.
164	164	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.