85R13327 JG-D     By: Rodriguez of Travis H.B. No. 4022       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to a study by the Health and Human Services Commission on   access to healthy foods.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  (a) The Health and Human Services Commission   shall conduct a study on access to healthy foods in this state. The   commission may establish a work group to assist in conducting the   study.  The work group may include representatives from other state   agencies, institutions of higher education, local governmental   entities, food councils, and other groups working to address food   access issues.          (b)  The study conducted under Subsection (a) of this section   must include:                (1)  an overview of access to healthy foods in this   state, including a breakdown of access to healthy foods by:                      (A)  urban areas;                      (B)  rural areas; and                      (C)  other geographic categories in this state;                (2)  an overview of current programs related to   increasing access to healthy foods;                (3)  an identification of best practices and successful   policies for increasing access to healthy foods and recommendations   for expanding those practices and policies in both urban and rural   areas;                (4)  an examination of how economic, health, housing,   or transportation circumstances affect a person's or community's   access to healthy foods;                (5)  an examination of food-purchasing practices,   including:                      (A)  the relation between where a person lives and   where that persons shops for food;                      (B)  the relation between where a person works and   where that person shops for food;                      (C)  the extent to which geographical distance   from a retail food store factors into a person's decision to shop at   that retail food store;                      (D)  the factors a person considers when choosing   to shop at a retail food store, including:                            (i)  the price of food;                            (ii)  the quality of food;                            (iii)  the type of food;                            (iv)  the convenience of shopping at the   retail food store; and                            (v)  any societal or communal factors;                      (E)  the price a person is willing to pay for food   in relation to its convenience, including the price a person is   willing to pay for food delivery services to avoid traffic or save   time;                      (F)  the relationship between household income   and food-purchasing practices;                      (G)  the preferred methods that people use to   travel to retail food stores, including a breakdown by county; and                      (H)  other factors, such as environment, culture,   and income, that affect food-purchasing practices; and                (6)  an evaluation of the benefits of implementing an   online purchasing program for persons participating in the federal   supplemental nutrition assistance program operated under 7 U.S.C.   Section 2011 et seq. and how an online purchasing program will   impact those persons.          (c)  Not later than January 1, 2019, the Health and Human   Services Commission shall submit a written report to the   legislature with the results of the study required under Subsection   (a) of this section and recommendations for improving access to   healthy foods based on the findings of that study.          (d)  This section expires September 1, 2019.          SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.