Bill Text: NY S01151 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Establishes the "hunger-free campus act" to address food insecurity among students at public and private higher education institutions.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-06-01 - referred to higher education [S01151 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S01151-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1151

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     January 7, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  KAPLAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance

        AN ACT to amend the education  law,  in  relation  to  establishing  the
          "hunger-free campus act"; and making an appropriation therefor

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited  as  the  "hunger-
     2  free campus act".
     3    §  2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 319 to read
     4  as follows:
     5    § 319. Hunger-free campus grant program.  1.  The  commissioner  shall
     6  establish  the hunger-free campus grant program pursuant to this section
     7  and regulations of the commissioner adopted for such purpose. Within the
     8  amounts appropriated for this  purpose,  the  commissioner  shall  award
     9  grants  on  a competitive basis to public institutions for higher educa-
    10  tion which have one or more campuses that are designated by the  commis-
    11  sioner as hunger-free campuses.
    12    2. The purpose of the grant funding shall be to:
    13    a. address student hunger;
    14    b.  leverage more sustainable solutions to address basic food needs on
    15  campus;
    16    c. raise awareness of  services  currently  offered  on  campus  which
    17  address basic food needs; and
    18    d.  continue  to build strategic partnerships at the local, state, and
    19  national levels to address food insecurity among students.
    20    3. For an institution to be designated as a hunger-free  campus,  such
    21  institution shall:
    22    a.  establish  a hunger task force that meets a minimum of three times
    23  per academic year to set at least two goals with action plans;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05613-01-1
        S. 1151                             2

     1    b. designate a staff member responsible for  assisting  students  with
     2  enrollment  in  the  state's  supplemental  nutrition assistance program
     3  (SNAP);
     4    c.  provide  options  for  students to utilize SNAP benefits at campus
     5  stores;
     6    d. participate in an awareness day campaign activity and plan a campus
     7  awareness event during the national hunger  and  homelessness  awareness
     8  week;
     9    e.  provide  at  least  one  physical food pantry on campus, or enable
    10  students to receive food through a separate, stigma-free arrangement;
    11    f. develop a "swipe out hunger" student meal credit  sharing  program,
    12  or designate a certain amount of funds for free meal vouchers that might
    13  otherwise be raised through such a program; and
    14    g.  annually  conduct  a  student  survey  on hunger, developed by the
    15  commissioner, and submit the results of the survey and a best  practices
    16  campus  profile  to the commissioner at a time prescribed by the commis-
    17  sioner for inclusion in a comparative profile of each campus  designated
    18  as  a  hunger-free campus. In the development of the survey, the commis-
    19  sioner shall utilize any existing surveys designed to  collect  informa-
    20  tion  on  food insecurity among students enrolled in public institutions
    21  of higher education.
    22    4. The commissioner shall allocate grant funding to each public insti-
    23  tution of higher education that has one or more campuses  designated  by
    24  the commissioner as a hunger-free campus in accordance with the criteria
    25  established  pursuant  to subdivision three of this section. The commis-
    26  sioner shall determine the amount of each grant which shall be  used  by
    27  the  institution  to  further  address  food  insecurity  among students
    28  enrolled in the institution.
    29    5. The commissioner shall submit a report to the governor, the  tempo-
    30  rary  president  of the senate and the speaker of the assembly, no later
    31  than two years after the establishment of the hunger-free  campus  grant
    32  program. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the number and
    33  amounts  of  the  grant  awards, the impact the grant program has had on
    34  establishing additional hunger-free campuses at public  institutions  of
    35  higher  education  and reducing the number of students experiencing food
    36  insecurity, and recommendations on the expansion of the grant program.
    37    § 3. The sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) is hereby  appropri-
    38  ated  to the department of education from any moneys in the state treas-
    39  ury in the general fund to the credit of the state purposes account, not
    40  otherwise appropriated, and made immediately available, for the  purpose
    41  of carrying out the provisions of this act. Such moneys shall be payable
    42  on  the  audit  and  warrant of the comptroller on vouchers certified or
    43  approved by the commissioner of education in the  manner  prescribed  by
    44  law.
    45    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.