New Jersey A 1299: "Food Desert Elimination Act"; provides incentives to supermarkets and grocery stores that locate in "food deserts."

Bill Text

(Sponsorship Updated As Of: 2/7/2022)
ASSEMBLY, No. 1299

STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 SESSION

Sponsored by:
Assemblyman LOUIS D. GREENWALD
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Assemblyman CRAIG J. COUGHLIN
District 19 (Middlesex)
Assemblyman RAJ MUKHERJI
District 33 (Hudson)

Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Quijano, Pintor Marin, Lampitt, Murphy, Assemblyman
DeAngelo, Assemblywomen Mosquera and Reynolds-Jackson

SYNOPSIS
“Food Desert Elimination Act”; provides incentives to supermarkets and
grocery stores that locate in “food deserts.”

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

A1299 GREENWALD, COUGHLIN
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AN ACT providing incentives to supermarkets and grocery stores in 1
certain areas and supplementing P.L.1974, c.80 (C.34:1B-2
1 et seq.) and P.L.2013, c.63 (C.33:1-12.50 et seq.). 3
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BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State 5
of New Jersey: 6
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1. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the “Food 8
Desert Elimination Act.” 9
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2. a. The Legislature finds and declares that: (1) there are 11
certain areas of the State, known as "food desert" communities, in 12
which residents are unable to obtain reasonable and adequate access 13
to nutritious foods and, in particular, to fresh fruits and vegetables; 14
(2) the inaccessibility of nutritious food in food desert communities 15
has been attributed, in large part, to the absence of supermarkets 16
and grocery stores in those communities; (3) low-income families 17
are more likely than others to live in food desert communities and 18
to lack the transportation or financial resources necessary to reach 19
distant wholesome markets; and (4) the establishment of financial 20
incentives to supermarkets and grocery stores is a reasonable means 21
by which to ensure that residents of food desert communities in the 22
State are provided with reasonable access to nutritious, fresh, and 23
delicious produce, and are afforded the opportunity thereby to make 24
healthier eating choices for themselves and for their families. 25
b. The Legislature therefore determines that it is both 26
reasonable and necessary to authorize the New Jersey Economic 27
Development Authority to establish a program that provides 28
incentives to supermarkets and grocery stores to establish and retain 29
locations in food desert communities in order to provide a 30
consistent, and easily accessible, source of fresh produce to 31
residents in those communities. 32
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3. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the 34
Legislature as this bill): 35
“Authority” means the New Jersey Economic Development 36
Authority. 37
“Department” means the Department of Agriculture. 38
“Food desert community” or “community” means a physically 39
contiguous area in the State in which residents have limited access 40
to nutritious foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, through 41
supermarkets and grocery stores and which has been designated as a 42
food desert community pursuant to subsection b. of section 4 of 43
P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). 44
“Program” means the Food Desert Elimination Program 45
established in section 4 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the 46
Legislature as this bill). 47

A1299 GREENWALD, COUGHLIN
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“Special retail distribution permit” means a nontransferable 1
permit to sell any alcoholic beverages for consumption off the 2
permitted premises, as described in section 10 of 3
P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). 4
“Supermarket or grocery store” means a retail facility of at least 5
18,000 square feet, of which at least 90 percent is occupied by a 6
full-service supermarket or grocery store. 7
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4. a. There is established the Food Desert Elimination 9
Program to be administered by the New Jersey Economic 10
Development Authority. The program shall include tax credit 11
components, as provided in sections 5 and 6 of 12
P.L. , c. (C. and C. ) (pending before the Legislature as 13
this bill), and a retail alcoholic beverage permit component, as 14
provided in sections 7 and 10 of P.L. , c. (C. and C. ) 15
(pending before the Legislature as this bill), in order to incentivize 16
businesses to establish and then retain new supermarkets and 17
grocery stores in food desert communities. 18
b. The authority, in consultation with the Department of 19
Agriculture and the Department of Community Affairs, shall 20
initially designate not more than 75 separate geographic areas that 21
are most in need of a supermarket or grocery store as food desert 22
communities in this State. The authority shall develop criteria for 23
the designation of food desert communities, but each separate food 24
desert community shall consist of a distinct geographic area with a 25
single defined border. The criteria shall, at a minimum, incorporate 26
analysis of municipal or census tract poverty statistics, food desert 27
information from the