Full Text of HB4568 100th General Assembly
HB4568enr 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 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 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by | 5 | | changing Section 12-4.50 as follows: | 6 | | (305 ILCS 5/12-4.50) | 7 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on June 30, 2019) | 8 | | Sec. 12-4.50. Healthy Local Food Incentives Program. | 9 | | (a) Legislative findings. Diet and other lifestyle choices | 10 | | contribute to more than half of all deaths in Illinois. Health | 11 | | risk factors include smoking, obesity, stress, nutrition, high | 12 | | blood pressure, and alcohol and drug use. Illinois residents | 13 | | should be encouraged to adopt diets and lifestyles that lead to | 14 | | wellness. The State can help provide that encouragement by | 15 | | funding wellness programs that enhance the health of Illinois | 16 | | residents. Healthy local food incentives encourage wellness | 17 | | among some of the most vulnerable residents of Illinois (those | 18 | | whose incomes are below the poverty line and who often have | 19 | | limited access to fresh, healthy, and affordable foods) by | 20 | | doubling the purchasing power of LINK cardholders at farmers | 21 | | markets across the State. The benefits of such a program | 22 | | include: an increase in population health, Medicaid health care | 23 | | cost savings, decreased incidence of preventable diseases, |
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| 1 | | increased revenue for Illinois small farmers, and economic | 2 | | stimulus for the region. | 3 | | (b) Definitions. As used in this Section: | 4 | | "FINI eligible fruits and vegetables" means any variety of | 5 | | fresh, canned, dried, or frozen whole or cut fruits and | 6 | | vegetables without added sugars, fats, or oils, and salt (i.e. | 7 | | sodium), as defined by the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive | 8 | | Grant Program administered by the United States Department of | 9 | | Agriculture. | 10 | | "LINK card" means an electronic benefits transfer card | 11 | | issued by the Department of Human Services for the purpose of | 12 | | enabling a user of the card to obtain SNAP benefits or cash. | 13 | | "SNAP" means the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance | 14 | | Program. | 15 | | (c) The Department of Human Services shall establish a | 16 | | Healthy Local Food Incentives Program to double the purchasing | 17 | | power of Illinois residents with limited access to fresh fruits | 18 | | and vegetables. The Healthy Local Food Incentives Fund is | 19 | | created as a special fund in the State treasury for the purpose | 20 | | of implementing the Healthy Local Food Incentives Program. All | 21 | | moneys received pursuant to this Section shall be deposited | 22 | | into the Healthy Local Food Incentives Fund. | 23 | | (d) Subject to appropriation, the Department of Human | 24 | | Services shall make an annual grant of $500,000 from the Fund | 25 | | to a qualified Illinois non-profit organization or agency, | 26 | | which shall be distributed to participating Illinois farmers |
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| 1 | | markets for the purpose of providing matching dollar incentives | 2 | | (up to a specified amount) for the dollar value of SNAP | 3 | | benefits spent on FINI eligible fruits and vegetables at | 4 | | participating Illinois farmers markets and direct | 5 | | producer-to-consumer venues. | 6 | | (e) The designated qualified non-profit organization or | 7 | | agency shall have a demonstrated track record of: | 8 | | (1) building a statewide network; | 9 | | (2) designing and implementing successful healthy food | 10 | | incentive programs that connect SNAP recipients with local | 11 | | producers; | 12 | | (3) implementing funds distribution and reporting | 13 | | processes; | 14 | | (4) providing training and technical assistance to | 15 | | farmers markets; | 16 | | (5) conducting community outreach and data collection; | 17 | | and | 18 | | (6) providing full accounting and administration of | 19 | | funds distributed to farmers markets. | 20 | | (f) 100% of the moneys deposited into the Fund shall be | 21 | | distributed to participating Illinois farmers markets for | 22 | | healthy local food incentives. | 23 | | (g) Within 90 days after the end of a grant cycle, the | 24 | | designated qualified non-profit organization or agency shall | 25 | | submit a progress report to the Department of Human Services. | 26 | | The progress report shall include the following information: |
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| 1 | | (1) the names and locations of Illinois farmers markets | 2 | | and direct producer-to-consumer venues that received funds | 3 | | distributed under the Program; | 4 | | (2) the dollar amount of funds awarded to each | 5 | | participating Illinois farmers market and direct | 6 | | producer-to-consumer venue; | 7 | | (3) the dollar amount of SNAP benefits, and funds | 8 | | provided under the Program, that were spent at Illinois | 9 | | farmers markets participating in the Program, as well as | 10 | | the dollar amount of any unspent funds available under the | 11 | | Program; | 12 | | (4) the number of SNAP transactions carried out | 13 | | annually at participating Illinois farmers markets; | 14 | | (5) the impact of the Program on increasing the | 15 | | quantity of fresh fruits and vegetables consumed by SNAP | 16 | | families, as determined by customer surveys. | 17 | | (h) No later than December 31, 2017, the Department of | 18 | | Human Services shall adopt rules to implement the provisions of | 19 | | this Section. | 20 | | (i) (Blank). This Section is repealed on June 30, 2019.
| 21 | | (Source: P.A. 99-928, eff. 1-20-17.)
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