Hawaii HB 497: RELATING TO THE HAWAII CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS.

Bill Text

HOUSEOFREPRESENTATIVES
THIRTY-THIRDLEGISLATURE,2025N
STATEOFHAWAII
ABILLFORANACT
RELATINGTOTHEHAWAIICHILDNUTRITIONPROGRAMS.
BEITENACTEDBYTHELEGISLATUREOFTHESTATEOFHAWAII:
1SECTION1.ThelegislaturefindsthattheHawaiichild
2nutritionprogramsisthestateagencylinkbetweentheUnited
3StatesDepartmentofAgricultureFoodandNutritionServiceand
4localprogramoperators.Theagencyconductsaudits,provides
5technicalassistance,anddisbursesfederalfundswhileensuring
6theprogramsaremanagedaccordingtofederalrequirements.
7ThelegislaturefurtherfindsthattheHawaiichild
8nutritionprogramshasacriticalroleinensuringthe
9departmentofeducationreachestheprogrammaticgoal
10establishedinAct175,SessionLawsofHawaii2021,toprovide
11atleastthirtypercentlocallygrownfoodintheState’s
12publicschoolsby2030.However,additionalresourcesandstaff
13dedicatedtofarm—to-schoolconnectionsareneededtoensurethe
14departmentofeducationmeetsits“30by30”goal.
15ThelegislaturealsofindsthattheHawaiichildnutrition
16programsisanagencyattachedtothedepartmentofeducation
17undertheboardofeducation.However,itiscriticalfroman
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HB.NO.
IethicalstandpointfortheHawaiichildnutritionprogramstobe
2independentofthedepartmentofeducation’sschoolfood
3servicesbranchtopreventitspreferentialtreatment.The
4Hawaiichildnutritionprogramsagencyshouldbetransferred
5fromthedepartmentofeducationtothedepartmentof
6agriculturetoallowtheHawaiichildnutritionprogramsto
7conductcomplianceauditsandfiscalreviewswithout
8interferencefromtheschoolfoodservicesbranch.
9ThepurposeofthisActisto:
10(1)EstablishtheHawaiichildnutritionprogramsasan
11agencyinthedepartmentofagriculture;and
12(2)Fundgrant-basedprogramstobeadministeredthrough
13theHawaiichildnutritionprograms.
14SECTION2.TheHawaiiRevisedStatutesisamendedby
15addinganewchaptertobeappropriatelydesignatedandtoread
16asfollows:
17“CHAPTER
18HAWAIICHILDNUTRITIONPROGRAMS
19§—1Definitions.Asusedinthischapter,“agency”
20meanstheHawaiichildnutritionprogramsagency.
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1§-2Hawaiichildnutritionprogramsagency;purpose.
2(a)Thereisestablishedwithinthedepartmentofagriculture
3foradministrativepurposesonly,theHawaiichildnutrition
4programsagency.Theagencyshallserveasthestatelink
5betweentheUnitedStatesDepartmentofAgricultureFoodand
6NutritionServicesandlocalprogramoperators.
7(b)ThepurposeoftheHawaiichildnutritionprograms
8agencyistoconductaudits,providetechnicalassistance,
9disbursefederalfundstolocalprogramoperators,and
10administerandawardgrantstopromotethepurchasingoflocally
11grownfoodsbyallschoolsintheStateparticipatinginthe
12UnitedStatesDepartmentofAgriculturechildnutrition
13programs.
14§—3Grants.(a)Theagencyshalladministeragrant
15programtosupporttheState’spublicschoolsbyfundingthe
16initiativesdescribedinsubsection(c)
17(b)Fundingshallbeusedforthepurposesdescribedin
18subsection(c);providedthatnomorethantwopercentofthe
19fundingreceivedbythegranteemayberetainedtobeusedfor
20administrationcosts.Fundingretainedbyprojectpartnersfor
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1datacollection,outreach,andtrainingmaynotexceedoneper
2centforeachprojectpartner.
3(c)Grantsshallbeawardedto:
4(1)Fundpurchaseofminimallyprocessedlocalfood
5products;
6(2)Fundequipmenttoincreasetheuseandpreparationof
7minimallyprocessedlocalfoodsinschoolmeals;
8(3)Fundprofessionaldevelopmenttoeducatechildren
9aboutgoodnutritionandfarm-to-schoolconnections;
10and
11(4)Fundtechnicalassistancetoincreaseparticipationin
12federalchildnutritionprograms.
13(d)Indeterminingrecipientsforgrantsrelatedtofarm-
14to-schooleducationandincreasingparticipationinfederal
15childnutritionprograms,theagencyshallprefergranteeswho
16proposeeducationalactivitiesthatmeetoneormoreofthe
17following:
18(1)Promotionofhealthyfoodactivities;
19(2)Cleareducationalobjectives;
20(3)Involvementofparentsorthecommunity;
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1(4)Connecttoaschoolorchildcarecenter’sfarm-to-
2schoolorfarm-to-early—child—careprocurement
3activities;and
4(5)Marketingandpromotingtheprogram,whichwilllead
5toincreasedpupilknowledgeandconsumptionof
6Hawaii-grownproducts.
7§-4Reportstothelegislature.Theagencyshall
8submitareporttothelegislatureonthedisbursementoffunds
9awardedpursuanttosection-3nolaterthantwentydays
10priortotheconveningofeachregularsession.”
11SECTION3.AllemployeesoftheHawaiichildnutrition
12programswhooccupycivilservicepositionsandwhosefunctions
13aretransferredtothedepartmentofagriculturebythisAct
14shallretaintheircivilservicestatus,whetherpermanentor
15temporary.Employeesshallbetransferredwithoutlossof
16salary,seniority(exceptasprescribedbyapplicablecollective
17bargainingagreements),retentionpoints,priorservicecredit,
18anyvacationandsickleavecreditspreviouslyearned,andother
19rights,benefits,andprivileges,inaccordancewithstate
20personnellawsandthisAct;providedthattheemployeespossess
21theminimumqualificationsandpublicemploymentrequire