Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 1G of chapter 15 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out the fourteenth paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraphs:-

The board shall establish minimum nutritional standards and regulations for all school food services. The board shall require all public schools operating on a one session day to make lunches available to children. The board shall also require all public schools to make lunches available to children. Standards and regulations of the board promulgated pursuant to this paragraph shall be adopted in the following manner. A copy of such regulations and standards shall be filed by the board with the clerk of the house of representatives and of the senate who shall refer such regulations and standards to the joint committee on education of the general court for review. Within thirty days after such filing, the said committee shall hold a public hearing on the regulations and standards, shall issue a report, and file a copy thereof with the board of education. Said board shall adopt final regulations and standards making such revisions in the interim regulations and standards as it deems appropriate in view of such report and shall forthwith file a copy of the regulations and standards with chairpersons of said committee of the general court and not earlier than thirty days after the date of such filing, the board of education shall file the final regulations and standards with the state secretary and the said regulations shall thereupon take effect.

The board shall further require all public schools which draw their attendance from areas with a high number of needy children, as defined by the bureau of nutrition education and school food services in the department, to make school breakfast programs available to children, and to operate such programs in accordance with the federal laws and regulations pertaining to school breakfast programs. Such breakfast programs shall be made available to children who do not qualify for free or reduced price breakfast under federal income eligibility guidelines at a price to each such child which is not less than the cost to the school of making such breakfast available to such child. The commonwealth shall reimburse each city or town required by this paragraph to make school breakfast programs available to children who qualify for free or reduced price meals pursuant to federal income eligibility guidelines, at a uniform rate determined pursuant to the following paragraph, which rate shall provide for the payment by the commonwealth of the reasonable costs of making breakfast available to such children, reduced by the amount of revenue received by the city or town from federal reimbursements or any other source with respect to the provision of such breakfasts. The department shall make said reimbursements in accordance with the same schedule as federal reimbursements are made to the city or town with respect to such breakfast programs.

The commissioner of administration shall convene a working committee made up of his own designee, a designee of the commissioner of education and a designee of the local government advisory committee to establish guidelines for purposes of reimbursing cities and towns for the reasonable costs associated with the implementation of school breakfast programs pursuant to the preceding paragraph. Such guidelines shall be filed by the working committee with the house and senate committees on ways and means and shall become effective only upon approval by said committees. Reimbursements of costs made pursuant to such guidelines shall constitute complete satisfaction of the obligation of the commonwealth to assume such costs pursuant to any general or special law.

SECTION 1A. The house of representatives, pursuant to section twenty-seven C of chapter twenty-nine of the General Laws, shall submit written notice to the division of local mandates requesting that the division determine the total annual financial effect for a period of not less than three years of this proposed legislation.

SECTION 2. To provide for supplementing certain items in the general appropriation act and for a certain new activity and project, the sum set forth in section three for the several purposes and subject to the provisions of law regulating the disbursement of public funds and the conditions pertaining to appropriations in the general appropriation act for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and eighty-seven or for such period as may be specified, the sum so appropriated to be in addition to any amounts available for the purpose.

SECTION 3.

`tm;keep=no `tcol=6,B4;c1=1,9,tu,T;c2=1,78,tuc;c3=1,78,tuc;c4=11,53,tfh1;c5=15,49,tu;c6=65,14,tur `tc3 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. `tc2 Division of School Facilities `tc2 and Related Services. `tc1 7053-1906 `tc4 For the reimbursement to cities and towns for the furnishing of breakfasts to school children, provided that this appropriation shall expire on June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and eighty-seven `tc6 $360,000 `tc5 Local Aid Fund 100.0% `tcol;end

SECTION 4. Nothing in this act is intended to contravene any provision in chapter five hundred and eighty of the acts of nineteen hundred and eighty relative to the state mandates on local and regional government, and for that purpose provision has been made in this act for complete satisfaction of the commonwealth's obligation to assume the reasonable costs of making breakfast available to qualifying children, reduced by the amount of revenues received from federal reimbursements or otherwise, at a uniform rate determined pursuant to the provisions of this act.

SECTION 5. Section one of this act shall take effect on September first, nineteen hundred and eighty-six or on the date thirty days after the commissioner of education certifies to the secretary of the commonwealth that the guidelines required under section one of this act have been promulgated, and approved, whichever date first occurs.