HBA-BSM H.B. 1086 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1086
By: Solis, Jim
Agriculture & Livestock
7/25/2001
Enrolled



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Many low-income people in the state rely on assistance from organizations
such as the Texas Association of Second Harvest Food Banks (TASHFB) to
supply food  to them when their resources run low.  Organizations such as
TASHFB rely heavily on the private sector for assistance to their
operations.  House Bill 1086 requires the Department of Agriculture to
develop a program to award funds to nonprofit organizations for the purpose
of collecting and distributing surplus agricultural products to food banks
and other charitable organizations. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking
authority is expressly delegated to the Department of Agriculture in
SECTION 1 (Section 20.001, Agriculture Code) of this bill. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 1086 amends the Agriculture Code to require the Department of
Agriculture (department) by rule to develop a program to award grants to
nonprofit organizations for the purpose of collecting and distributing
surplus agricultural products to food banks and other charitable
organizations that serve needy or low-income individuals. 
   
A nonprofit organization is authorized  to receive such grants if the
organization has five years of experience coordinating a statewide network
of food banks and charitable organizations that serve each county of this
state, operates a program that coordinates the collection and
transportation of surplus agricultural products to a statewide network of
food banks, and submits to the department a proposal for the collection and
distribution of surplus agricultural products to food banks or other
charitable organizations.  

The bill provides that a nonprofit organization that receives a grant for
the distribution of surplus agricultural products must report the results
of the project to the department. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.