HOUSE AGRICULTURE AND WATER RESOURCES COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

HOUSE BILL 207

55th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2021

AN ACT

RELATING TO FOOD; ENACTING THE FOOD, HUNGER AND FARM ACT; CREATING THE FOOD, HUNGER AND FARM COUNCIL; PROVIDING FOR COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP AND DUTIES; ESTABLISHING DUTIES FOR CERTAIN STATE AGENCIES TO DEVELOP AND REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TARGETED PLANS TO ADDRESS HUNGER AND NUTRITION, EXPAND ACCESS TO FOOD AND PROMOTE FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS FROM THE STATE; PROVIDING FOR DATA SHARING ON HUNGER AND FOOD SYSTEMS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Food, Hunger and Farm Act".

     SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] FOOD, HUNGER AND FARM COUNCIL--CREATION--DUTIES.--

          A. The "food, hunger and farm council" is created. The secretary of human services, in consultation with the New Mexico department of agriculture, shall appoint members to the council from:

                (1) tribal and local governments;

                (2) schools, universities and other educational institutions;

                (3) organizations pertaining to the operation of food banks;

                (4) nonprofit organizations established to provide food and reduce hunger or food insecurity;

                (5) agricultural producers at multiple scales, including small, medium and production scale, and trade organizations;

                (6) dietitians, health care providers and hospital systems;

                (7) organizations and individuals working to reduce food insecurity, create more efficient food systems, monitor food distribution, provide data analysis, advance New Mexico food product marketing and strategic planning and provide housing, homeless and veterans' services;

                (8) the office of the governor; and

                (9) the following agencies:

                     (a) the New Mexico department of agriculture;

                     (b) the human services department;

                     (c) the department of health;

                     (d) the aging and long-term services department;

                     (e) the children, youth and families department;

                     (f) the public education department;

                     (g) the higher education department;

                     (h) the early childhood education and care department;

                     (i) the office of the state engineer and interstate stream commission;

                     (j) the New Mexico livestock board;

                     (k) the Indian affairs department; and

                     (l) the homeland security and emergency management department.

          B. The council shall annually develop a strategic plan that:

                (1) identifies and assesses:

                     (a) the incidence, causes, trends and effects of hunger, malnutrition and food and household water insecurity;

                     (b) all public and private meal programs, nutrition assistance, income support, mutual aid and other programs that assist individuals in accessing food;

                     (c) statewide infrastructure needs to support food processing, distribution and storage by agricultural producers and food providers;

                     (d) programs that assist farmers, ranchers and production agriculture producers in New Mexico;

                     (e) economic and workforce challenges and opportunities impacting agricultural producers and their capacity to grow, process, distribute and sell food in New

Mexico;

                     (f) opportunities to enhance the use of technology, infrastructure and markets to support agricultural producers and provide access to local markets and food and meal programs;

                     (g) opportunities to support agricultural producers in enhancing agricultural productivity, soil and water conservation, ecosystem health and resilience;

                     (h) opportunities to support the growing of traditional foods, food sovereignty and seed saving; and

                     (i) data needed to address these needs; and

                (2) provides recommendations for achieving the goals of the strategic plan through:

                     (a) targeted policy changes, including but not limited to expansion of state agriculture, meal, nutrition and related support programs;

                     (b) budgetary coordination and strategic funding mechanisms;

                     (c) the use of state and state-funded assets and infrastructure, including food storage, transportation and distribution infrastructure;

                     (d) partnerships with private, business, nonprofit, tribal, federal and local entities; and

                     (e) coordination with existing efforts to address food, hunger and agriculture needs in New Mexico.

          C. The council shall present its strategic plan to the governor, the secretary of finance and administration, the legislative finance committee and the appropriate legislative interim committees by December 1, 2022 and each December 1 occurring thereafter.

     SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] FOOD PROCESSING, STORAGE AND DISTRIBUTION.--The human services department, in consultation with the New Mexico department of agriculture, shall develop an annual food infrastructure plan that includes an inventory of and establishes recommendations to improve food processing, food storage and food distribution and other critical infrastructure and capital equipment needs to address statewide hunger. State entities with assets identified in the plan may make those assets available to support implementation of the plan taking into consideration public safety and the state entities' existing requirements.

     SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] MEAT INSPECTION AND PROCESSING PLAN.--The New Mexico livestock board, in consultation with the New Mexico department of agriculture and agricultural producers and organizations, shall jointly and annually develop recommendations for a plan to improve meat inspection and processing and improve the safety and quality of meat consumption. The plan shall include recommendations to support and sustain meat production infrastructure, processing and distribution in the state and incorporate findings from other reports and studies produced by the New Mexico department of agriculture, New Mexico state university and other entities.

     SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PLAN.--The New Mexico department of agriculture, the economic development department, the public education department, the New Mexico state university cooperative extension service, the workforce solutions department, the higher education department and other applicable agencies shall jointly and annually develop recommendations for a plan to enhance economic development and job creation resulting from agricultural production and food distribution in the state, address workforce needs and socioeconomic conditions and promote local processing, distribution and sale of food and agricultural products produced in the state.

     SECTION 6. [NEW MATERIAL] NEW MEXICO-GROWN FOOD PRODUCTS PLAN.--The public education department, the early childhood education and care department, the aging and long-term services department, the New Mexico department of agriculture, the department of health and the corrections department shall jointly and annually develop, in cooperation with meal and nutrition support programs established by the state, recommendations for a plan to increase the purchase of New Mexico-grown food products and improve interagency coordination, streamlining and administration.

     SECTION 7. [NEW MATERIAL] HUNGER AND FOOD INSECURITY REDUCTION PLAN FOR SCHOOLS AND HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS.-- The public education department, the early childhood education and care department and the higher education department, upon consultation with higher education institutions of the state, shall jointly and annually develop recommendations for a plan to expand and improve meal programs at schools, early childhood care facilities and higher education institutions, consider adaptations to school meal programs to address barriers in participation and address hunger and food insecurity among student and staff populations.

     SECTION 8. [NEW MATERIAL] AGRICULTURAL RESILIENCE PLAN.--The New Mexico department of agriculture, soil and water conservation districts, acequias and community ditches, the department of environment, the state land office, the Indian affairs department and the energy, minerals and natural resources department shall jointly and annually develop and update recommendations for a statewide plan in partnership with stakeholders to support and protect resilient and traditional agricultural practices and land stewardship, soil and water conservation, indigenous and traditional food practices and seed saving and landscape-level conservation and sustainability. The plan shall be developed upon consultation with and shared with agricultural producers, higher education institutions of the state and other federal, tribal, industry and nongovernmental organizations and build on existing plans developed in partnership with stakeholders.

     SECTION 9. [NEW MATERIAL] MALNUTRITION PLAN.--The human services department, in consultation with the New Mexico department of agriculture, the department of health, the aging and long-term services department, the public education department, the higher education department, the early childhood education and care department, the Indian affairs department and the children, youth and families department, shall jointly and annually develop recommendations for a plan to address malnutrition among vulnerable groups, including children, senior citizens, rural and low-income communities, people living in poverty and other vulnerable groups as determined by the human services department.

     SECTION 10. [NEW MATERIAL] EMERGENCY AND LONG-TERM FOOD AND HUNGER RELIEF PLAN.--The human services department, in consultation with other state agencies, food banks, nonprofit organizations, agricultural producers and organizations and representatives of tribal and local governments, shall jointly develop recommendations for a statewide plan to:

          A. respond to and provide emergency relief for food and household water supply needs during a public emergency, which shall consider:

                (1) best practices;

                (2) recommendations from emergency response and management agencies resulting from current or previous emergencies;

                (3) food and water supply vulnerabilities and needs in the state;

                (4) protocols for assessing food and water needs in partnership with tribal and local governments; and

                (5) the need for coordination and data sharing; and

          B. provide food relief on an ongoing basis in a manner that addresses, in the long term, systemic hunger and food insecurity.

     SECTION 11. [NEW MATERIAL] FOOD AND INCOME SECURITY PLAN--FEDERAL WAIVERS.--

          A. The human services department, the aging and long-term services department, the public education department, the workforce solutions department and the children, youth and families department shall, in consultation with other state agencies that provide nutrition, support, meal and employment programs, jointly and annually develop recommendations for and implement a plan to increase food and income security by:

                (1) maximizing eligibility and enrollment for state- and federally funded programs;

                (2) coordinating and streamlining meal, nutrition and employment programs, improving program processes and staffing and reducing caseloads and backlogs to improve access to services;

                (3) providing for improved administration of meal, nutrition and employment programs through strategies that include centralized resource centers, one-stop points of entry and joint case management;

                (4) providing education to members of the public on existing meal, nutrition and employment programs and program eligibility and enrollment;

                (5) training caseworkers and staff to provide services in a manner that is sensitive to victims of trauma and that is culturally and linguistically appropriate;

                (6) increasing outreach for the federal supplemental nutrition assistance program by partnering with nongovernmental organizations; and

                (7) expanding meal programs for vulnerable populations, including senior meal programs, public school meal programs and programs serving individuals with disabilities.

          B. The income support division of the human services department shall, to the extent permitted by federal law, make timely applications for and timely renew all federal waivers that will increase benefit amounts and the number of individuals who qualify for and participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program.

     SECTION 12. [NEW MATERIAL] PROCUREMENT STANDARD RECOMMENDATIONS--PURCHASING DIVISION OF THE GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT.--By November 1, 2021, the purchasing division of the general services department shall develop recommendations for changes to procurement requirements to increase the percentage of food purchased by state agencies from food producers and processors with a principal place of business in New Mexico by fifty percent by January 1, 2030; provided that the recommendations shall not apply to food banks.

     SECTION 13. [NEW MATERIAL] REPORTING.--Plan recommendations developed pursuant to the provisions of Sections 2 through 11 of the Food, Hunger and Farm Act shall be provided to the governor, the secretary of finance and administration, the legislative finance committee and the appropriate legislative interim committees by November 1, 2022 and each November 1 occurring thereafter.

     SECTION 14. [NEW MATERIAL] HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT-- SHARED DATA PLATFORM.--By December 1, 2023, the human services department, in consultation with the food, hunger and farm council, shall develop and maintain a shared data platform on hunger and food systems in New Mexico for state agencies to:

          A. analyze and monitor data pertaining to food, hunger and agricultural needs and assets;

          B. share data across state agencies and with the public;

          C. coordinate food chain sourcing, food distribution and food storage statewide; and

          D. support emergency food and household water supply relief efforts.

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