Bill > S1616

This bill establishes an advisory committee dedicated to examining fresh food retail accessibility across Massachusetts, with a comprehensive mandate to address food access challenges. The committee, composed of 11 members including government officials, industry representatives, and experts, will investigate why certain urban and rural communities lack adequate access to fresh food, study the public health implications of these disparities, and develop innovative strategies to improve food accessibility. Their specific tasks include creating criteria to identify underserved communities, exploring causes of food access limitations, developing recommendations such as legislative changes, economic incentives, transportation improvements, and public-private partnerships, and calculating the costs and potential benefits of their proposed solutions. The committee is required to file a detailed report with findings and draft legislation within 18 months of enactment, covering recommendations for addressing fresh food retail challenges across the Commonwealth. After submitting this report, the advisory committee will automatically dissolve, ensuring a focused and time-limited approach to addressing this critical public health and economic issue.

Budget and Finance, Health and Social Services

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S1616