SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1363        FILED ON: 1/16/2015

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 69

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Eileen M. Donoghue

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act establishing the healthy incentives program.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Eileen M. Donoghue

First Middlesex

Aaron Vega

5th Hampden

Jay D. Livingstone

8th Suffolk

James B. Eldridge

Middlesex and Worcester

Kay Khan

11th Middlesex

John V. Fernandes

10th Worcester

Frank A. Moran

17th Essex

Benjamin Swan

11th Hampden

Denise Provost

27th Middlesex

Diana DiZoglio

14th Essex

Kevin G. Honan

17th Suffolk

Jason M. Lewis

Fifth Middlesex

Tom Sannicandro

7th Middlesex

Linda Dorcena Forry

First Suffolk

James J. O'Day

14th Worcester

Sarah K. Peake

4th Barnstable

Jonathan Hecht

29th Middlesex

Tricia Farley-Bouvier

3rd Berkshire

Kathleen O'Connor Ives

First Essex

Brian M. Ashe

2nd Hampden

Louis L. Kafka

8th Norfolk

Marcos A. Devers

16th Essex

Rady Mom

18th Middlesex

Ruth B. Balser

12th Middlesex

Thomas A. Golden, Jr.

16th Middlesex

Daniel Cullinane

12th Suffolk

William Smitty Pignatelli

4th Berkshire

Sal N. DiDomenico

Middlesex and Suffolk

David M. Rogers

24th Middlesex

Ellen Story

3rd Hampshire

Daniel M. Donahue

16th Worcester

Joan B.  Lovely

Second Essex


SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1363        FILED ON: 1/16/2015

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 69

By Ms. Donoghue, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 69) of Eileen M. Donoghue, Aaron Vega, Jay D. Livingstone, James B. Eldridge and other members of the General Court for legislation to establish a health incentives program.  Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities.

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth General Court
(2015-2016)

_______________

 

An Act establishing the healthy incentives program.

 

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

Chapter 18 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 30 the following section:

Section 31. The department shall establish a healthy incentives program to improve the dietary and health status of households eligible for or participating in the supplemental nutrition assistance program.

Subject to appropriation, the department shall increase the purchasing power of households participating in the supplemental nutrition assistance program by providing an incentive program that enhances the benefit to participating households. The enhanced benefit shall be a minimum of 30 cents per dollar spent on targeted fruits and vegetables, to be determined by the department in consultation with the department of public health and the department of agricultural resources. All households participating in the supplemental nutrition assistance program shall be eligible for the incentive.

The program shall be available at all retailers that accept supplemental nutritional assistance program benefits, including, but not limited to grocery stores and supermarkets, corner stores and bodegas, farmers markets, mobile markets, community-supported agriculture, and farm stands. The department may determine the eligible modes for processing the enhanced benefit, and shall seek to utilize existing methods of redeeming nutritional benefits, including electronic benefit transfer systems, token systems, and mobile loyalty and incentive platforms.

The department shall prepare and submit to the Governor, the Joint Committee on Public Health, the House Committee on Ways and Means, and the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, an annual report that includes the impact of on appropriate health, nutrition, and associated behavioral outcomes among households participating in the program.