89R1553 MM-D
 
  By: Bucy H.B. No. 1289
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to measures to address student hunger at postsecondary
  educational institutions.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 51.9231 to read as follows:
         Sec. 51.9231.  FOOD VENDOR CONTRACT REQUIREMENT. (a) In
  this section, "institution of higher education" has the meaning
  assigned by Section 61.003.
         (b)  A contract entered into by an institution of higher
  education with a person for the person to sell or otherwise provide
  food on the institution's campus must require the person, if
  eligible, to seek authorization to become a retailer and accept
  benefits under the supplemental nutrition assistance program under
  Chapter 33, Human Resources Code.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 61.0763 and 61.07631 to read as follows:
         Sec. 61.0763.  HUNGER-FREE CAMPUS PROGRAM. (a) The board
  shall establish and administer a hunger-free campus program to
  support institutions of higher education in establishing essential
  and sustainable solutions to hunger at institution campuses in this
  state.  The solutions must include:
               (1)  allowing students to donate meal credits from the
  student's meal plan to be distributed to peers who may be facing
  food insecurity;
               (2)  establishing food pantries on campus;
               (3)  developing, in collaboration with the Health and
  Human Services Commission, capacity-building strategies for
  increasing student enrollment in the supplemental nutrition
  assistance program under Chapter 33, Human Resources Code,
  including strategies for identifying students who previously
  received meals under the national free or reduced-price lunch
  program established under 42 U.S.C. Section 1751 et seq. and
  enrolling them in the supplemental nutrition assistance program;
  and
               (4)  any other solutions identified by the work group
  established under Subsection (c), institution and campus
  personnel, or the board.
         (b)  The board shall establish criteria under which the board
  may designate a campus of an institution of higher education as a
  Hunger-Free Campus if the campus applies and meets the
  qualifications.
         (c)  The board shall establish a work group to develop best
  practices guidelines for addressing student hunger on the campuses
  of institutions of higher education, including methods for
  implementing the solutions to hunger described by Subsection (a).
         (d)  The work group must include members who are
  representatives of:
               (1)  the legislature;
               (2)  institutions of higher education;
               (3)  the board; and
               (4)  other relevant stakeholders.
         (e)  In determining the composition of the work group, the
  board shall:
               (1)  ensure work group members represent various types
  of institutions of higher education located throughout this state;
  and
               (2)  appoint one work group member to serve as
  presiding officer.
         (f)  Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
  the work group shall submit a report to the legislature regarding
  its findings and recommendations.
         Sec. 61.07631.  HUNGER-FREE CAMPUS GRANT PROGRAM. (a) The
  board, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture, shall
  establish and administer a program to award grants to eligible
  institutions of higher education to support efforts to fight hunger
  on the campuses of those institutions.
         (b)  Subject to money appropriated or otherwise available,
  the board shall award grants on a competitive basis to institutions
  of higher education that have one or more campuses designated as a
  Hunger-Free Campus by the board under Section 61.0763(b).
         (c)  The board shall determine the amount of each grant,
  prioritizing grants made to institutions of higher education with
  the highest percentages of eligible Pell grant program recipients
  enrolled in the institution.
         (d)  Grants awarded under this section must be used by the
  receiving institution of higher education to:
               (1)  address student hunger on the institution's
  campuses;
               (2)  promote essential and sustainable solutions to
  address basic food needs on the institution's campuses;
               (3)  raise awareness of services that address basic
  food needs and that are currently offered on the institution's
  campuses; and
               (4)  build partnerships at the local, state, and
  national levels to address food insecurity among students.
         (e)  The board shall adopt rules to implement this section,
  including rules establishing an application and selection process
  for awarding grants.
         (f)  Each institution of higher education that receives a
  grant under the program shall submit a report to the board, in the
  manner the board prescribes, that describes how the institution
  used the grant award.
         (g)  Not later than December 1, 2028, the board shall submit
  to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the
  house of representatives a report on the grant program under this
  section. The report must include:
               (1)  the number and amounts of grants awarded;
               (2)  the impact of the program on establishing
  Hunger-Free Campuses at institutions of higher education;
               (3)  the impact of the program on reducing the number of
  students experiencing food insecurity; and
               (4)  recommendations for statutory or funding changes
  necessary to implement successful innovations for reducing hunger
  at institutions of higher education.
         SECTION 3.  Subchapter A, Chapter 33, Human Resources Code,
  is amended by adding Section 33.020 to read as follows:
         Sec. 33.020.  SNAP ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN STUDENTS ENROLLED
  IN POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION PROGRAMS. (a) In this section,
  "postsecondary educational institution" includes:
               (1)  an institution of higher education or a private or
  independent institution of higher education as defined by Section
  61.003, Education Code; and
               (2)  a career school or college as defined by Section
  132.001, Education Code.
         (b)  The commission shall, as authorized under 7 U.S.C.
  Section 2015(o)(6), provide an exemption from work requirements to
  provide supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits to an
  individual who is:
               (1)  ineligible to receive supplemental nutrition
  assistance program benefits based solely on the work requirements;
  and
               (2)  enrolled as a student in at least 12 semester
  credit hours in a postsecondary educational institution.
         (c)  The executive commissioner shall adopt rules to
  implement this section, including rules that ensure a student
  remains eligible for supplemental nutrition assistance benefits
  during a break in the semester or academic term of the postsecondary
  educational institution in which the student is enrolled.
         SECTION 4.  Section 51.9231, Education Code, as added by
  this Act, applies only to a contract entered into on or after the
  effective date of this Act.  A contract entered into before the
  effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
  date the contract was entered into, and the former law is continued
  in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 5.  (a)  Not later than December 31, 2025, the Texas
  Higher Education Coordinating Board shall establish the work group
  required by Section 61.0763, Education Code, as added by this Act.
         (b)  Not later than December 1, 2026, the work group
  established under Section 61.0763, Education Code, as added by this
  Act, shall submit its initial report.
         SECTION 6.  Not later than December 31, 2026, the executive
  commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall
  adopt the rules necessary to implement Section 33.020, Human
  Resources Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 7.  Section 33.020, Human Resources Code, as added
  by this Act, applies only to an initial determination or
  recertification of eligibility for the supplemental nutrition
  assistance program under Chapter 33, Human Resources Code, that is
  made on or after the effective date of this Act. A determination or
  recertification made before the effective date of this Act is
  governed by the law in effect on the date the determination or
  recertification was made, and the former law is continued in effect
  for that purpose.
         SECTION 8.  If before implementing any provision of this Act
  a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
  federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
  the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
  authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
  waiver or authorization is granted.
         SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.