Florida Senate - 2023                             CS for SB 1172
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Agriculture; and Senator Calatayud
       
       
       
       
       
       575-02510-23                                          20231172c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Hunger-Free Campus Pilot
    3         Program; providing a short title; establishing the
    4         pilot program within the Department of Agriculture and
    5         Consumer Services for a specified period; providing
    6         the purpose of the pilot program; defining the terms
    7         “commissioner” and “department”; requiring the
    8         Commissioner of Agriculture to identify the three
    9         state universities or Florida College System
   10         institutions with the highest percentage of Pell
   11         Grant-eligible students for participation in the pilot
   12         program; requiring the commissioner to develop a
   13         specified survey instrument; providing requirements
   14         for participating universities and institutions;
   15         requiring participating universities and institutions
   16         to submit a report to the department; requiring the
   17         commissioner to submit a report to the Governor and
   18         the Legislature by a specified date; specifying
   19         requirements for the reports; authorizing the
   20         department to adopt rules; requiring the Office of
   21         Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
   22         to conduct a study to evaluate food insecurity on the
   23         campuses of state universities and Florida College
   24         System institutions; providing requirements for the
   25         office and the study; requiring the office to submit a
   26         report to the Legislature by a specified date;
   27         providing an effective date.
   28          
   29  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   30  
   31         Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Hunger-Free Campus
   32  Act.”
   33         Section 2. (1) Subject to legislative appropriation, the
   34  Hunger-Free Campus Pilot Program is established within the
   35  Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to support
   36  efforts to fight hunger on the campuses of public postsecondary
   37  educational institutions. The program is established for a
   38  period of 1 year, beginning July 1, 2023.
   39         (2) For purposes of this section, the term:
   40         (a) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Agriculture.
   41         (b) “Department” means the Department of Agriculture and
   42  Consumer Services.
   43         (3)(a) The commissioner shall identify from among all state
   44  universities and Florida College System institutions the three
   45  that have the highest percentage of Pell Grant-eligible
   46  students, which universities or institutions shall participate
   47  in the program.
   48         (b) The commissioner shall also develop the survey
   49  instrument described in subsection (4).
   50         (4) A participating state university or Florida College
   51  System institution shall:
   52         (a) Establish a hunger task force, which must include
   53  representatives from the student body and meet at least three
   54  times during the life of the pilot program. The task force shall
   55  set at least two goals to address hunger on campus, each
   56  accompanied by an action plan.
   57         (b) Designate a staff member responsible for assisting
   58  students with enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition
   59  Assistance Program (SNAP) as defined in s. 414.456(1), Florida
   60  Statutes.
   61         (c) Provide options that enable students to use SNAP
   62  benefits on campus or provide students with information on
   63  authorized SNAP retailers in the area surrounding the campus
   64  where they may use SNAP electronic benefit transfer cards.
   65         (d) Host an activity or event during Hunger and
   66  Homelessness Awareness Week to promote awareness of hunger on
   67  the nation’s campuses.
   68         (e) Provide at least one physical food pantry on campus or
   69  enable students to receive food at no cost through a stigma-free
   70  process. The campus may partner with a local food bank or food
   71  pantry to comply with this paragraph.
   72         (f) Develop a student meal credit donation program or
   73  designate funds that might be raised through such a program for
   74  free food vouchers.
   75         (g) Conduct a student survey on hunger, using a survey
   76  instrument developed by the commissioner, and submit the results
   77  of the survey and a best practices campus profile to the
   78  department by a date prescribed by the department for inclusion
   79  in a comparative profile of each campus designated as a hunger
   80  free campus.
   81         (5)(a) Each participating state university or Florida
   82  College System institution shall submit a report to the
   83  department, in a manner prescribed by the department, which
   84  describes how it implemented the program and the program
   85  results.
   86         (b) The commissioner shall submit a report on the program
   87  to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of
   88  the House of Representatives by January 1, 2025. The report must
   89  include, but need not be limited to, the impact of the program
   90  on establishing hunger-free campuses at participating state
   91  universities or Florida College System institutions; the impact
   92  of the program on reducing the number of students at such
   93  universities and institutions who are experiencing food
   94  insecurity; and recommendations regarding future funding and
   95  implementation of the program on a long-term basis.
   96         (6) The department may adopt rules to implement the
   97  program.
   98         Section 3. (1) The Office of Program Policy Analysis and
   99  Government Accountability (OPPAGA) shall conduct a study to
  100  evaluate food insecurity on the campuses of state universities
  101  and Florida College System institutions.
  102         (2) The study must include recommendations for any changes
  103  to general law, Board of Governors’ rules and regulations, or
  104  State Board of Education rules needed to address food insecurity
  105  on the campuses of state universities and Florida College System
  106  institutions.
  107         (3) In conducting the study, OPPAGA shall consult with the
  108  Board of Governors of the State University System, the board of
  109  trustees of the Florida College System, the Department of
  110  Education, and any other relevant stakeholders.
  111         (4) OPPAGA shall submit a report on its findings to the
  112  President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
  113  Representatives by December 1, 2023.
  114         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.