Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 786 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a new tax credit and grant program to stimulate investment and healthy nutrition options in food deserts, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 13, 2019 Mr. WARNER (for himself, Mr. MORAN, Mrs. CAPITO, and Mr. CASEY) intro- duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Finance A BILL To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a new tax credit and grant program to stimulate invest- ment and healthy nutrition options in food deserts, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Healthy Food Access 4 for All Americans Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. TAX CREDIT AND GRANT PROGRAM FOR SPECIAL 6 ACCESS FOOD PROVIDERS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 786 IS (1) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—Subpart D of 1 part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal 2 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 3 end the following new section: 4 ‘‘SEC. 45T. SPECIAL ACCESS FOOD PROVIDER CREDIT AND 5 GRANT PROGRAM. 6 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF CREDIT FOR GROCERY 7 STORES.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, 9 the special access food provider credit determined 10 under this section for any taxable year is an amount 11 equal to the lesser of— 12 ‘‘(A) the amount of the allocation received 13 by the taxpayer under subsection (d)(1)(A), or 14 ‘‘(B) the amount equal to— 15 ‘‘(i) in the case of a qualified grocery 16 store which is placed in service during such 17 taxable year by a taxpayer which has been 18 certified as a special access food provider, 19 15 percent of the basis of such grocery 20 store, including any property used in the 21 operation of such grocery store— 22 ‘‘(I) which is acquired by the tax- 23 payer if the original use of such prop- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 786 IS erty commences with the taxpayer, 1 and 2 ‘‘(II) with respect to which de- 3 preciation (or amortization in lieu of 4 depreciation) is allowable, or 5 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a qualified renova- 6 tion area which is placed in service during 7 such taxable year, 10 percent of the ren- 8 ovation expenditures incurred by a tax- 9 payer which has been certified as a special 10 access food provider. 11 ‘‘(2) RENOVATION EXPENDITURES.—For pur- 12 poses of paragraph (1)(B)(ii), the term ‘renovation 13 expenditures’ means amounts chargeable to capital 14 account and incurred for property (or additions or 15 improvements to property) of a character subject to 16 the allowance for depreciation in connection with the 17 renovation or rehabilitation of a grocery store. 18 ‘‘(b) GRANT PROGRAM FOR FOOD BANKS AND TEM- 19 PORARY ACCESS MERCHANTS.— 20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordina- 21 tion with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall, subject 22 to the requirements of this section, provide a grant 23 to any entity which has been certified as a special 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 786 IS access food provider in an amount equal to the less- 1 er of— 2 ‘‘(A) the amount of the allocation received 3 by the entity under subsection (d)(1)(B), or 4 ‘‘(B) the amount equal to— 5 ‘‘(i) in the case of a permanent food 6 bank which has been placed in service dur- 7 ing the taxable year by such provider, 15 8 percent of any qualified construction ex- 9 penses incurred by such provider; and 10 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any provider which 11 qualifies as a temporary access merchant, 12 10 percent of any annual operational costs 13 incurred by such provider. 14 ‘‘(2) TIME FOR PAYMENT OF GRANT.—The Sec- 15 retary shall make payment of any grant under para- 16 graph (1) during the 60-day period beginning on the 17 later of— 18 ‘‘(A) the date of the application for certifi- 19 cation as a special access food provider, or 20 ‘‘(B) the date— 21 ‘‘(i) in the case of a permanent food 22 bank, on which the food bank for which 23 the grant is being made is placed in serv- 24 ice, or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 786 IS ‘‘(ii) in the case of a temporary access 1 merchant, the end of the taxable year in 2 which the operational costs were incurred. 3 ‘‘(3) GRANT NOT CONSIDERED INCOME FOR 4 PURPOSES OF TAXATION.—A grant under this sub- 5 section shall not be considered as gross income for 6 purposes of this chapter. 7 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION AS A SPECIAL ACCESS FOOD 8 PROVIDER.— 9 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION.—Each applicant for certifi- 10 cation as a special access food provider shall submit, 11 for each grocery store, food bank, mobile market, or 12 farmers market, an application with the Secretary, 13 at such time, in such manner, and containing such 14 information as the Secretary may reasonably re- 15 quire. 16 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—For 17 purposes of certification as a special access food pro- 18 vider, the Secretary, in consultation with the Sec- 19 retary of Agriculture and the applicable regional 20 community development entity, shall determine 21 whether— 22 ‘‘(A) in the case of an applicant seeking to 23 construct, renovate, or rehabilitate a grocery 24 store, whether such store— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 786 IS ‘‘(i) following completion of such con- 1 struction, renovation, or rehabilitation, will 2 qualify as a grocery store (as defined in 3 subsection (h)(3)), 4 ‘‘(ii) is located in a food desert on the 5 date on which construction, renovation, or 6 rehabilitation begins, 7 ‘‘(iii) satisfies the eligibility criteria 8 established for projects under the Healthy 9 Food Financing Initiative established 10 under section 243 of the Department of 11 Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 12 U.S.C. 6953), and 13 ‘‘(iv) satisfies such other criteria as is 14 determined appropriate by the Secretary, 15 in consultation with the Secretary of Agri- 16 culture, or 17 ‘‘(B) in the case of an applicant seeking to 18 operate a permanent food bank or as a tem- 19 porary access merchant, whether such appli- 20 cant— 21 ‘‘(i) is an entity for which no part of 22 the net earnings of such entity inures to 23 the benefit of any private shareholder or 24 individual, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 786 IS ‘‘(ii)(I) in the case of a permanent 1 food bank, is located in a food desert on 2 the date on which construction of such 3 food bank begins, or 4 ‘‘(II) in the case of a temporary ac- 5 cess merchant— 6 ‘‘(aa) sells or provides food in 7 any food desert for an average of— 8 ‘‘(AA) in the case of a farm- 9 ers market, not less than 10 10 hours (during daylight hours) 11 each week during the calendar 12 year, or 13 ‘‘(BB) in the case of a tem- 14 porary access merchant which is 15 not a farmers market, not less 16 than 5 days and 50 hours each 17 week during the calendar year, or 18 ‘‘(bb) satisfies such requirements 19 as are established by the Secretary of 20 Agriculture to ensure an adequate 21 level of food distribution within food 22 deserts, 23 ‘‘(iii) satisfies the eligibility criteria 24 described in subparagraph (A)(iii), and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 786 IS ‘‘(iv) satisfies such other criteria as is 1 determined appropriate by the Secretary. 2 ‘‘(3) NO ADDITIONAL USDA GRANTS FOR FARM- 3 ERS MARKETS.—A farmers market shall not be eligi- 4 ble for certification as a special access food provider 5 during any period in which such farmers market re- 6 ceives funding pursuant to any other grant program 7 administered by the Department of Agriculture 8 (with the exception of grants provided pursuant to 9 the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive under sec- 10 tion 4405 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy 11 Act of 2008). 12 ‘‘(d) ALLOCATION OF SPECIAL ACCESS FOOD PRO- 13 VIDER CREDITS AND GRANTS.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In each calendar year, the 15 Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Ag- 16 riculture, shall provide allocations to entities which 17 have been certified as special access food providers 18 under subsection (c) to receive— 19 ‘‘(A) in the case of an entity certified pur- 20 suant to subparagraph (A) of subsection (c)(2), 21 a special access food provider credit for expend- 22 itures related to a qualified grocery store or 23 qualified renovation area, and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 786 IS ‘‘(B) in the case of an entity certified pur- 1 suant to subparagraph (B) of such subsection, 2 grants for qualified construction expenses or 3 operational costs incurred by such entity. 4 ‘‘(2) DURATION OF GRANTS TO TEMPORARY AC- 5 CESS MERCHANTS.—In the case of a special access 6 food provider which qualifies as a temporary access 7 merchant, the Secretary shall provide the grant to 8 such provider on an annual basis for a period of not 9 greater than 10 years. 10 ‘‘(e) RECAPTURE.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3), 12 the Secretary shall provide for recapturing the ben- 13 efit of any credit allowable or grant provided under 14 this section with respect to any qualified grocery 15 store, qualified renovation area, or permanent food 16 bank which fails to satisfy the requirements under 17 subsection (c)(2) during the 5-year period following 18 the date on which such store, area, or food bank is 19 placed in service. 20 ‘‘(2) TEMPORARY ACCESS MERCHANT.—Subject 21 to paragraph (3), the Secretary shall provide for re- 22 capturing the benefit of any grant provided under 23 this section with respect to any temporary access 24 merchant which fails to satisfy the requirements 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 786 IS under subsection (c)(2) for any year during the pe- 1 riod described in subsection (d)(2). 2 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—If, during any taxable 3 year, a special access food provider fails to satisfy 4 the requirements under subsection (c)(2), the tax 5 under this chapter for such taxable year shall be in- 6 creased by an amount equal to the appropriate per- 7 centage of the credit or grant amount as is deter- 8 mined appropriate by the Secretary. 9 ‘‘(f) BASIS REDUCTION.—The basis of any qualified 10 grocery store, any grocery store which includes a qualified 11 renovation area, or any food bank, mobile market, or 12 farmers market shall be reduced by the amount of any 13 credit or grant determined under this section with respect 14 to such property. 15 ‘‘(g) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary, in coordination 16 with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall prescribe such reg- 17 ulations as may be appropriate to carry out this section, 18 including regulations which— 19 ‘‘(1) prevent the abuse of the purposes of this 20 section, 21 ‘‘(2) impose appropriate reporting require- 22 ments, and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 786 IS ‘‘(3) ensure that non-metropolitan areas receive 1 a proportional amount of allocations provided under 2 subsection (d). 3 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 4 ‘‘(1) FOOD DESERT.— 5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘food desert’ 6 means any population census tract in which— 7 ‘‘(i) not less than 500 people, or 33 8 percent of the population of such tract, re- 9 side— 10 ‘‘(I) in the case of a tract located 11 within a metropolitan area, more than 12 1 mile from a grocery store, or 13 ‘‘(II) in the case of a tract not lo- 14 cated within a metropolitan area, 15 more than 10 miles from a grocery 16 store, 17 ‘‘(ii) the poverty rate for such tract is 18 at least 20 percent, or 19 ‘‘(iii)(I) in the case of a tract not lo- 20 cated within a metropolitan area, the me- 21 dian family income for such tract does not 22 exceed 80 percent of statewide median 23 family income, or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 786 IS ‘‘(II) in the case of a tract located 1 within a metropolitan area, the median 2 family income for such tract does not ex- 3 ceed 80 percent of the greater of statewide 4 median family income or the metropolitan 5 area median family income. 6 ‘‘(B) AREAS NOT WITHIN CENSUS 7 TRACTS.—In the case of an area which is not 8 tracted for population census tracts, the equiva- 9 lent county divisions (as defined by the Bureau 10 of the Census) shall be used for purposes of de- 11 terminations of food deserts under this para- 12 graph. 13 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF FOOD 14 DESERTS.—For purposes of determining wheth- 15 er a population census tract qualifies as a food 16 desert for purposes of this section, the Sec- 17 retary shall make such determinations in co- 18 ordination with the Secretary of Agriculture in 19 such manner as is determined appropriate, in- 20 cluding use of the Food Access Research Atlas 21 established by the Department of Agriculture. 22 ‘‘(2) GROCERIES.—The term ‘groceries’ 23 means— 24 ‘‘(A) fresh and frozen produce, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 786 IS ‘‘(B) fresh and frozen meat and seafood, 1 ‘‘(C) dairy products, and 2 ‘‘(D) deli products, including sliced meats, 3 cheeses, and salads. 4 ‘‘(3) GROCERY STORE.—The term ‘grocery 5 store’ means a retail store for which forecasted sales 6 of groceries account for not less than 35 percent of 7 its total annual sales. 8 ‘‘(4) METROPOLITAN AREA.—The term ‘metro- 9 politan area’ has the same meaning given the term 10 ‘metropolitan statistical area’ under section 11 143(k)(2)(B). 12 ‘‘(5) QUALIFIED CONSTRUCTION EXPENSES.— 13 The term ‘qualified construction expe [Text truncated for display. 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