Count Hunger Act., the official text

An act to add Chapter 26 (commencing with Section 28050) to Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to nutrition.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

Existing law declares the established policy of the state that every human being has the right to access sufficient affordable and healthy food. Existing law defines food insecurity as the occasional or constant lack of access to the food one needs to live a healthy life and the uncertainty of being able to acquire enough food to meet the needs of an individual or household due to insufficient money or other resources.
Existing law establishes the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education within this state. The University of California comprises 10 institutions of higher education located at various campuses, including in the City of Los Angeles.
This bill, the Count Hunger Act, would encourage the University of California, Los Angeles, in administering the California Health Interview Survey, to expand the portion of the survey relating to food insecurity to include households with incomes at or below 400% of the federal poverty level. The bill would further encourage the University of California, Los Angeles, to make available statewide, regional, and county-level data regarding food insecurity among households with incomes at or below 400% of the federal poverty level through the AskCHIS reporting tool or a successor public reporting platform, as specified. The bill would encourage these provisions to be undertaken only to the extent that the University of California, Los Angeles, determines sufficient resources are available.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Count Hunger Act.

SEC. 2.
Chapter 26 (commencing with Section 28050) is added to Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
26.
California Health Interview Survey28050.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares that food insecurity is an urgent, nutrition-related health crisis for Californians that experience it.
(b) The Legislature further funds and declares that the statewide health survey administered by the University of California, Los Angeles, known as the “California Health Interview Survey” or “CHIS,” is a critical measure of food insecurity in California.

28051.
(a) The Legislature encourages the University of California, Los Angeles, in administering the California Health Interview Survey, to expand the portion of the survey relating to food insecurity to include households with incomes at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level.
(b) The Legislature further encourages the University of California, Los Angeles, to make available, to the extent feasible and in a manner that does not include personally identifiable information, statewide, regional, and county-level data regarding food insecurity among households with incomes at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level through the AskCHIS reporting tool or a successor public reporting platform.
(c) The Legislature encourages the activities described in this section to be undertaken only to the extent that the University of California, Los Angeles, determines that sufficient resources are available. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the appropriation of state funds or create an entitlement to state funding.