BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2856 By: Raymond May 7, 1995 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND More than one million Texas children are hungry or at risk of hunger according to the 1995 Texas Childhood Hunger Identification Project. One in nine Texas children under the age of 12 has inadequate economic, family or community resources to provide sufficient food security. Hungry children suffer nearly twice as many individual health problems and illnesses as their non-hungry counterparts. These children also experience more frequent fatigue and headaches, irritability, and suffer from an inability to concentrate -- all of which can affect school attendance and learning. For each spell of illness, hungry children in Texas missed an average of 1.5 days of school. In addition, more than 70 percent of hungry Texas families were "working poor." These are families that have at least one member employed and still have inadequate resources to meet all their family's food and nutrition needs. PURPOSE CSHB 2856 creates the Texas Food Security Council to address the problem of hunger in Texas. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Title 9, Human Resources Code, by adding Chapter 136, as follows: Sec. 136.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "council" means the Texas Food Security Council. Sec. 136.002. TEXAS FOOD SECURITY COUNCIL. (a) Sets forth composition of the Texas Food Security Council. (b) Provides that the governor designate the presiding officer of the council. (c) Provides that members of the council serve without compensation. Sec. 136.003. DUTIES OF COUNCIL. (a) Sets forth duties of the council. (b) Requires the council to provide local communities with information regarding food security. (c) Provides that the council meet at least quarterly. (d) Not later than December 1, 1996, requires the council to report to the lieutenant governor and speaker of the house on the council's activities and make recommendations for legislation to increase local communities' food security. Sec. 136.004. AGENCY COOPERATION. Requires each agency with a representative on the council to cooperate with the council and provide staff, administrative support, information and resources necessary to accomplish the council's duties. Sec. 136.005. GRANTS. Provides that the council may apply for and accept public or private grants to fund the council's duties. Sec. 136.006. COUNCIL ABOLISHED; EXPIRATION OF CHAPTER. Provides that the council is abolished and this chapter expires September 1, 1997. SECTION 2. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE (1) SECTION 1 (Sec. 136.002 (a)(6)) states that the representative shall now be appointed by the Texas Agriculture Extension Service. (2) SECTION 1 (Sec. 136.002 (a)(8)) changes number of appointments to three. Expands requirements for the appointment. Specifies who shall appoint each person. (3) SECTION 1 (Sec. 136.002 (a)(9)) changes number of appointments to three. Expands requirements for the appointment. Specifies who shall appoint each person. (4) SECTION 1 (Sec. 136.002 (a)(10)) adds one appointment from the comptroller's office. (5) SECTION 1 (Sec. 136.002 (b)) of the original bill relating to terms of the governor's appointees is deleted. Conforming changes made on following subsections. (6) SECTION 1 (Sec. 136.002 (c)) deletes the statement that members of the council are entitled to reimbursement for expenses incurred while serving in their official capacity. (7) SECTION 1 (Sec. 136.003 (c)) relating to meetings is added. (8) SECTION 1 (Sec. 136.003 (d)(1) and (d)(2)) relating to the council reporting to the legislature are added. (9) SECTION 1 (Sec. 136.006 COUNCIL ABOLISHED; EXPIRATION OF CHARTER) replaces the Sunset Provision on the original bill. SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE ACTION Pursuant to a posting of public hearing on April 19, 1995, the House Committee on State Affairs convened in a public hearing to consider HB 2856. The chair laid out HB 2856 and recognized Rep. Raymond to explain the bill. The following persons testified for the bill: Daniel Lizarraga representing himself and Kathleen Fitzgerald representing the Sustainable Food Center. The following person provided neutral testimony on the bill: Ramona Kellam representing herself. The chair left HB 2856 pending. The House Committee on State Affairs considered HB 2856 in a formal meeting on April 27. The Committee considered a complete substitute for the bill. One amendment was offered to the substitute which was adopted without objection. The substitute as amended was adopted without objection. The chair directed the staff to incorporate the amendment into the substitute. The bill was reported favorably as substituted with the recommendation that it do pass and be printed and be sent to the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars which prevailed by a record vote of 15 ayes, 0 nay, 0 PNV, and 0 absent.