Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB758 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: West, Blanco, Flores S.B. No. 758
2	2	(In the Senate - Filed February 7, 2023; March 1, 2023, read
3	3	first time and referred to Committee on Water, Agriculture & Rural
4	4	Affairs; April 28, 2023, reported adversely, with favorable
5	5	Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0;
6	6	April 28, 2023, sent to printer.)
7	7	Click here to see the committee vote
8	8	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 758 By: Blanco
9	9
10	10
11	11	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
12	12	AN ACT
13	13	relating to food system security and resiliency planning.
14	14	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
15	15	SECTION 1. Title 2, Agriculture Code, is amended by adding
16	16	Chapter 23 to read as follows:
17	17	CHAPTER 23. FOOD SYSTEM SECURITY
18	18	Sec. 23.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
19	19	(1) "Council" means the Texas food system security and
20	20	resiliency planning council.
21	21	(2) "Office" means:
22	22	(A) the office of food system security and
23	23	resiliency if that office is established as a division within the
24	24	department by an Act of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session,
25	25	2023; or
26	26	(B) the food and nutrition division of the
27	27	department if the office of food system security and resiliency is
28	28	not established as a division within the department by an Act of the
29	29	88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023.
30	30	Sec. 23.002. TEXAS FOOD SYSTEM SECURITY AND RESILIENCY
31	31	PLANNING COUNCIL. (a) The office shall establish the Texas food
32	32	system security and resiliency planning council. The council is
33	33	composed of the following members:
34	34	(1) three members appointed by the governor;
35	35	(2) three members appointed by the lieutenant
36	36	governor;
37	37	(3) three members appointed by the speaker of the
38	38	house of representatives;
39	39	(4) one member of the Texas Animal Health Commission
40	40	appointed by the governor;
41	41	(5) one member appointed by the commissioner to
42	42	represent food banks;
43	43	(6) two members appointed by the commissioner to
44	44	represent agricultural producer organizations, marketing
45	45	associations organized under Chapter 52, or farmers' cooperative
46	46	societies incorporated under Chapter 51;
47	47	(7) the assistant commissioner of agriculture for the
48	48	food and nutrition division as a nonvoting member;
49	49	(8) the director of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
50	50	Service as a nonvoting member; and
51	51	(9) one nonvoting member appointed by the executive
52	52	commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission to
53	53	represent the supplemental nutrition assistance program, the
54	54	federal special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants,
55	55	and children, and the supplemental nutrition assistance
56	56	program-education.
57	57	(b) A person appointed under Subsection (a) must have
58	58	experience in an industry or economic sector involving food
59	59	production or food sales or in a related industry or economic
60	60	sector.
61	61	(c) For the purpose of Subsection (a)(6), the Texas Farm
62	62	Bureau is considered an agricultural producer organization.
63	63	(d) A council member serves at the pleasure of the
64	64	appointing authority.
65	65	(e) The governor shall designate a chair of the council from
66	66	the members the governor appoints. The lieutenant governor shall
67	67	designate a vice chair of the council from the members the
68	68	lieutenant governor appoints.
69	69	(f) The council shall meet at least once quarterly or more
70	70	frequently at the call of the chair.
71	71	(g) A member of the council is not entitled to compensation
72	72	or reimbursement for expenses incurred in performing council
73	73	duties.
74	74	(h) The council shall:
75	75	(1) give guidance to the office; and
76	76	(2) review the state food system security plan
77	77	developed under Section 23.003.
78	78	Sec. 23.003. STATE FOOD SYSTEM SECURITY PLAN. (a) The
79	79	office shall develop a state food system security plan. The plan
80	80	must:
81	81	(1) provide for the orderly development and management
82	82	of food system security throughout this state, including ensuring
83	83	sufficient food is available at a reasonable cost to:
84	84	(A) ensure public health, safety, and welfare;
85	85	(B) further economic development; and
86	86	(C) protect the agricultural and natural
87	87	resources of this state;
88	88	(2) account for times of severe drought conditions,
89	89	natural disasters, man-made disasters, or other calamities; and
90	90	(3) include legislative recommendations that are
91	91	needed or desirable to facilitate the resilience and availability
92	92	of food in this state.
93	93	(b) In developing the plan, the office shall seek the advice
94	94	of:
95	95	(1) the Department of State Health Services; and
96	96	(2) the Parks and Wildlife Department.
97	97	(c) The office shall:
98	98	(1) review and revise as necessary the plan developed
99	99	under Subsection (a) at least once every five years; and
100	100	(2) deliver the plan to the governor, the lieutenant
101	101	governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the
102	102	chair of the appropriate committees in each house of the
103	103	legislature.
104	104	Sec. 23.004. FOOD SYSTEM SECURITY PLANNING FUND. (a) In
105	105	this section, "planning fund" means the food system security
106	106	planning fund.
107	107	(b) The planning fund is a dedicated account in the general
108	108	revenue fund and consists of:
109	109	(1) appropriations of money to the planning fund by
110	110	the legislature;
111	111	(2) gifts, grants, including federal grants, and other
112	112	donations received for the planning fund; and
113	113	(3) interest earned on the investment of money in the
114	114	planning fund.
115	115	(c) The planning fund may be used only to administer the
116	116	council under Section 23.002.
117	117	(d) The office may accept gifts, grants, or donations from
118	118	any source that are made for the purposes of this section. Money
119	119	received under this subsection shall be deposited in the planning
120	120	fund.
121	121	Sec. 23.005. TEXAS FOOD SYSTEM SECURITY AND RESILIENCY
122	122	GRANT PROGRAM. (a) In this section:
123	123	(1) "Eligible recipient" means:
124	124	(A) a municipality;
125	125	(B) a county;
126	126	(C) a council of government;
127	127	(D) a regional planning council;
128	128	(E) an economic development corporation;
129	129	(F) a transit authority;
130	130	(G) a nonprofit or similar organization;
131	131	(H) a farm or agricultural product or service
132	132	cooperative;
133	133	(I) a nonprofit farmers' market or grocery store;
134	134	or
135	135	(J) a micro-business as defined by Section
136	136	2006.001, Government Code.
137	137	(2) "Grant fund" means the Texas food system security
138	138	and resiliency projects fund.
139	139	(b) The grant fund is a dedicated account in the general
140	140	revenue fund and consists of:
141	141	(1) appropriations of money to the grant fund by the
142	142	legislature;
143	143	(2) gifts, grants, including federal grants, and other
144	144	donations received for the grant fund; and
145	145	(3) interest earned on the investment of money in the
146	146	grant fund.
147	147	(c) The office shall award grants to eligible recipients to
148	148	increase food system security or resiliency in this state. To be
149	149	eligible for a grant, a project must be related to food production,
150	150	food system security, or food supply resiliency and have the
151	151	ability to impact either an individual community or the production
152	152	of a specific agricultural commodity. The department shall award
153	153	grants to a variety of eligible recipients across this state.
154	154	(d) The grant fund may be used by the office only to:
155	155	(1) award grants under this section; and
156	156	(2) administer the grant program under this section.
157	157	(e) The amount of a grant awarded under this section may not
158	158	be less than $10,000 or more than $250,000. The total amount of
159	159	grants awarded under this section may not exceed $10 million.
160	160	(f) This section expires August 31, 2025.
161	161	Sec. 23.006. BIANNUAL REPORT. (a) The department shall
162	162	report to the legislature biannually on the activities of the
163	163	office and council. The report must contain a description of:
164	164	(1) the activities of the council under this chapter;
165	165	and
166	166	(2) grants awarded under Section 23.005.
167	167	(b) This section expires January 14, 2025.
168	168	Sec. 23.007. RULES. The department shall adopt rules
169	169	necessary to administer this chapter.
170	170	SECTION 2. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
171	171	date of this Act, the Department of Agriculture shall adopt rules
172	172	and procedures as required to implement Chapter 23, Agriculture
173	173	Code, as added by this Act.
174	174	(b) As soon as practicable after the adoption of rules and
175	175	procedures under Subsection (a) of this section, the governor,
176	176	lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of representatives,
177	177	executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission,
178	178	and commissioner of agriculture shall appoint the initial members
179	179	of the Texas food system security and resiliency planning council
180	180	under Section 23.002, Agriculture Code, as added by this Act.
181	181	SECTION 3. Not later than September 1, 2025, the office, as
182	182	that term is defined by Section 23.001, Agriculture Code, as added
183	183	by this Act, shall deliver the initial state food system security
184	184	plan as required by Section 23.003(c), Agriculture Code, as added
185	185	by this Act.
186	186	SECTION 4. (a) In this section, "office" has the meaning
187	187	assigned by Section 23.001, Agriculture Code, as added by this Act.
188	188	(b) The office is not required to award a grant under
189	189	Section 23.005, Agriculture Code, as added by this Act, unless the
190	190	legislature appropriates money specifically for that purpose
191	191	during the state fiscal biennium ending August 31, 2025.
192	192	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
193	193	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
194	194	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
195	195	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
196	196	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
197	197	* * * * *