|
|
|||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | AN ACT concerning public aid.
| ||||||
| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| ||||||
| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
| ||||||
| 4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | ||||||
| 5 | Farmers' Market Technology Improvement Program Act. | ||||||
| 6 | Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act: | ||||||
| 7 | "Farmers' market" means a nontraditional fresh food | ||||||
| 8 | market, licensed by the United States Department of | ||||||
| 9 | Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service to accept SNAP | ||||||
| 10 | benefits, where farmers or growers sell a variety of fresh | ||||||
| 11 | fruits and vegetables and other locally-grown farm products | ||||||
| 12 | directly to consumers. | ||||||
| 13 | "LINK card" means an electronic benefits transfer card | ||||||
| 14 | issued by the Department of Human
Services for the purpose of | ||||||
| 15 | enabling a user of the card to obtain SNAP (formerly known as | ||||||
| 16 | food stamps) benefits or cash.
| ||||||
| 17 | Section 10. Farmers' Market Technology Improvement | ||||||
| 18 | Program. | ||||||
| 19 | (a) The Department of Human Services and the Department of | ||||||
| 20 | Agriculture shall implement a Farmers' Market Technology | ||||||
| 21 | Improvement Program. The purpose of this program is to increase | ||||||
| 22 | access to fresh fruits and vegetables and other LINK eligible | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | food products, including quality meat and dairy, for all | ||||||
| 2 | Illinois residents by allowing LINK program participants to | ||||||
| 3 | redeem their SNAP benefits at farmers' markets. The Department | ||||||
| 4 | of Human Services and the Department of Agriculture shall | ||||||
| 5 | solicit federal and State funding for the purpose of | ||||||
| 6 | implementing this program. | ||||||
| 7 | (b) The Farmers' Market Technology Improvement Fund is | ||||||
| 8 | created as a special fund in the State Treasury for the purpose | ||||||
| 9 | of implementing the Farmers' Market Technology Improvement | ||||||
| 10 | Program. All monies received pursuant to this Act shall be | ||||||
| 11 | deposited into the Farmers' Market Technology Improvement | ||||||
| 12 | Fund. Funding for the program must be used for one or more of | ||||||
| 13 | the following purposes: | ||||||
| 14 | (1) The purchase or rental of wireless point of sale | ||||||
| 15 | terminals capable of processing
SNAP benefits disbursed | ||||||
| 16 | under the LINK program. | ||||||
| 17 | (2) Monthly or transaction fees associated with LINK | ||||||
| 18 | card transactions. No fees related to credit or debit | ||||||
| 19 | transactions will be reimbursed. | ||||||
| 20 | (3) Outreach to LINK program participants.
| ||||||
| 21 | Section 15. Implementation of regulations. The Department | ||||||
| 22 | of Human Services shall adopt necessary rules and shall | ||||||
| 23 | implement the program by March 31, 2011. | ||||||
| 24 | Section 20. The State Finance Act is amended by adding | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | Section 5.755 as follows: | ||||||
| 2 | (30 ILCS 105/5.755 new) | ||||||
| 3 | Sec. 5.755. The Farmers' Market Technology Improvement | ||||||
| 4 | Fund. | ||||||
| 5 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, | ||||||
| 6 | 2010. | ||||||