HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4965        FILED ON: 3/19/2020

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4732

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Mindy Domb

_________________

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 a COVID-19 Local Food Access Emergency Fund.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Mindy Domb

3rd Hampshire

3/19/2020

Brian M. Ashe

2nd Hampden

3/27/2020

Ruth B. Balser

12th Middlesex

3/27/2020

Christine P. Barber

34th Middlesex

3/27/2020

Natalie M. Blais

1st Franklin

3/27/2020

Peter Capano

11th Essex

3/27/2020

Michelle L. Ciccolo

15th Middlesex

3/27/2020

James B. Eldridge

Middlesex and Worcester

3/27/2020

Nika C. Elugardo

15th Suffolk

3/26/2020

Anne M. Gobi

Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire and Middlesex

3/27/2020

Carlos González

10th Hampden

3/27/2020

Tami L. Gouveia

14th Middlesex

3/27/2020

Stephan Hay

3rd Worcester

3/27/2020

Christopher Hendricks

11th Bristol

3/27/2020

Kevin G. Honan

17th Suffolk

3/27/2020

Patrick Joseph Kearney

4th Plymouth

3/27/2020

Mary S. Keefe

15th Worcester

3/27/2020

Kay Khan

11th Middlesex

3/27/2020

Jack Patrick Lewis

7th Middlesex

3/27/2020

Adrian C. Madaro

1st Suffolk

3/27/2020

Christina A. Minicucci

14th Essex

3/27/2020

Michael O. Moore

Second Worcester

3/27/2020

Tram T. Nguyen

18th Essex

3/27/2020

Patrick M. O'Connor

Plymouth and Norfolk

3/27/2020

Denise Provost

27th Middlesex

3/27/2020

David Allen Robertson

19th Middlesex

3/27/2020

Maria Duaime Robinson

6th Middlesex

3/27/2020

John H. Rogers

12th Norfolk

3/27/2020

Lindsay N. Sabadosa

1st Hampshire

3/27/2020

Jon Santiago

9th Suffolk

3/27/2020

Thomas M. Stanley

9th Middlesex

3/27/2020

Walter F. Timilty

Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth

3/27/2020

Aaron Vega

5th Hampden

3/27/2020

John C. Velis

4th Hampden

3/27/2020

Tommy Vitolo

15th Norfolk

3/27/2020

Thomas P. Walsh

12th Essex

3/27/2020

Susannah M. Whipps

2nd Franklin

3/27/2020


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4965        FILED ON: 3/19/2020

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4732

By Ms. Domb of Amherst, a petition (subject to Joint Rule 12) of Mindy Domb and others that the Department of Transitional Assistance be authorized to administer a $50,000,000 local food access emergency fund to provide financial assistance to food pantries severely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.  Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities.

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

_______________

 

An Act establishing a COVID-19 Local Food Access Emergency Fund.

 

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. (a) There shall be established and set upon the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the COVID-19 Local Food Access Emergency Fund to be administered by the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance.

(b) The purpose of the Fund shall be for financial assistance in the form of grants to food pantries within the commonwealth who have been severely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Such financial assistance shall include, but not be limited to, grants for: (i) staffing;  (ii) procurement; (iii) sourcing; (iv) purchases of food or other items for distribution; (v) unexpected expenses as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

(c) There shall be credited to the Fund all amounts that are, by law, transferred or authorized to be transferred thereto or directed to be deposited therein, and all amounts received as gifts, grants, or contributions for the purposes of the Fund. Amounts credited to the Fund shall not be subject to further appropriation and any money remaining in the Fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund.

(d) For the purposes of this section the term “food pantry”, shall mean a food distribution center that is either registered as a 501 (c ) (3) entity or is a program of a 501 (c) (3) entity in partnership with a local Food Bank.

SECTION 2. On the effective date of this act, the comptroller shall transfer no less than $50,000,000 from the General Fund to the COVID-19 Local Food Access Emergency Fund established in section 1 for the purposes of carrying out this act.