Urban Agriculture Healthy Food and Entrepreneur Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5266 To provide for the enhancement of urban agriculture, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 26, 2019 Ms. GABBARD (for herself, Ms. MOORE, and Mr. RUSH) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con- cerned A BILL To provide for the enhancement of urban agriculture, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Urban Agriculture Healthy Food and Entrepreneur 5 Act’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H5266.IH H5266 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 5266 IH TITLE I—URBAN AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION EASEMENT PROGRAM Sec. 101. Establishment and purposes. Sec. 102. Definitions. Sec. 103. Urban agricultural land easements. TITLE II—OTHER URBAN AGRICULTURE PROGRAMS Sec. 201. Urban agriculture microentrepreneur assistance program. Sec. 202. Community Food Project Grant Program. Sec. 203. Purchases of locally produced foods. Sec. 204. Farm to school program. TITLE I—URBAN AGRICULTURE 1 CONSERVATION EASEMENT 2 PROGRAM 3 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSES. 4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 5 an urban agriculture conservation easement program for 6 the conservation of eligible land, improved community food 7 security, and improved access to cropland for beginning 8 farmers or ranchers, socially disadvantaged farmers or 9 ranchers, and majority-controlled producer-based business 10 ventures through easements or other interests in land. 11 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program are 12 to— 13 (1) protect the agricultural use and future via- 14 bility, and related conservation values, of eligible 15 land by limiting nonagricultural uses of that land; 16 (2) to improve or provide affordable long-term 17 access to land for agricultural and related uses in 18 urban communities; and 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5266.IH H5266 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 5266 IH (3) to improve community food security. 1 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 2 In this title: 3 (1) BEGINNING FARMER OR RANCHER.—The 4 term ‘‘beginning farmer or rancher’’ has the mean- 5 ing given that term in section 343(a) of the Consoli- 6 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 7 1991(a)). 8 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 9 ty’’ means— 10 (A) a State or local governmental entity or 11 an Indian Tribe; or 12 (B) an organization that is— 13 (i) organized for, and at all times 14 since the formation of the organization has 15 been operated principally for, 1 or more of 16 the conservation purposes specified in 17 clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of section 18 170(h)(4)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code 19 of 1986; 20 (ii) an organization described in sec- 21 tion 501(c)(3) of that Code that is exempt 22 from taxation under section 501(a) of that 23 Code; or 24 (iii) described in— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5266.IH H5266 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 5266 IH (I) paragraph (1) or (2) of sec- 1 tion 509(a) of that Code; or 2 (II) section 509(a)(3) of that 3 Code and is controlled by an organiza- 4 tion described in section 509(a)(2) of 5 that Code. 6 (3) ELIGIBLE LAND.—The term ‘‘eligible land’’ 7 means— 8 (A) private or Tribal land— 9 (i) that is subject to a pending offer 10 for purchase of an urban agricultural land 11 easement from an eligible entity; 12 (ii) that is potentially or currently 13 physically suitable for use as cropland and 14 other attendant agricultural activities; 15 (iii) the use of which for agricultural 16 activities does not pose a threat to the 17 human health of those working the land or 18 the public, due to levels of environmental 19 contaminants on the land or in the sub- 20 surface of the land; and 21 (iv)(I) that is currently vacant; 22 (II) that is in tax delinquency; 23 (III) that is a brownfield site, as de- 24 fined in section 101(39) of the Comprehen- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5266.IH H5266 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 5266 IH sive Environmental Response, Compensa- 1 tion, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 2 9601(39)); 3 (IV) that is currently being used for 4 urban agriculture purposes; or 5 (V) the protection of which will fur- 6 ther a State or local policy consistent with 7 the purposes of the program; or 8 (B) other private or Tribal land that is in- 9 cidental to land described in subparagraph (A), 10 if the Secretary determines that it is necessary 11 for the efficient administration of an easement 12 under the program. 13 (4) MAJORITY-CONTROLLED PRODUCER-BASED 14 BUSINESS VENTURE.—The term ‘‘majority-controlled 15 producer-based business venture’’ has the meaning 16 given that term in section 210A(a)(5) of the Agricul- 17 tural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1627c(a)(5)). 18 (5) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 19 the urban agricultural conservation easement pro- 20 gram established by this subtitle. 21 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 22 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Of- 23 fice of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Produc- 24 tion. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5266.IH H5266 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 5266 IH (7) SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMER OR 1 RANCHER.—The term ‘‘socially disadvantaged farm- 2 er or rancher’’ has the meaning given that term in 3 section 355(e) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 4 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2003(e)). 5 (8) URBAN AGRICULTURAL LAND EASEMENT.— 6 The term ‘‘urban agricultural land easement’’ means 7 an easement or other interest in eligible land that— 8 (A) is conveyed for the purpose of pro- 9 tecting natural resources and the agricultural 10 nature of the land in urban communities; and 11 (B) permits the landowner the right to 12 continue agricultural production and related 13 uses subject to an urban agricultural land ease- 14 ment plan, as approved by the Secretary. 15 SEC. 103. URBAN AGRICULTURAL LAND EASEMENTS. 16 (a) AVAILABILITY OF ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 17 shall facilitate and provide funding for— 18 (1) the purchase by eligible entities of urban 19 agricultural land easements in eligible land; and 20 (2) technical assistance to provide for the con- 21 servation of natural resources pursuant to an urban 22 agricultural land easement plan. 23 (b) COST-SHARE ASSISTANCE.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5266.IH H5266 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 5266 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall protect 1 the agricultural use, including grazing, and related 2 conservation and food security values of eligible land 3 through cost-share assistance to eligible entities for 4 purchasing urban agricultural land easements. 5 (2) SCOPE OF ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE.— 6 (A) FEDERAL SHARE.—An agreement de- 7 scribed in paragraph (4) shall provide for a 8 Federal share determined by the Secretary of 9 an amount not to exceed 75 percent of the fair 10 market value of the urban agricultural land 11 easement, as determined by the Secretary 12 using— 13 (i) the Uniform Standards of Profes- 14 sional Appraisal Practice; 15 (ii) an areawide market analysis or 16 survey; or 17 (iii) another industry-approved meth- 18 od. 19 (B) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 20 (i) IN GENERAL.—Under the agree- 21 ment, the eligible entity shall provide a 22 share that is at least 25 percent of the fair 23 market value of the urban agricultural 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5266.IH H5266 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 5266 IH land easement in accordance with subpara- 1 graph (A). 2 (ii) SOURCE OF CONTRIBUTION.—An 3 eligible entity may include as part of its 4 share under clause (i) a charitable dona- 5 tion or qualified conservation contribution 6 (as defined by section 170(h) of the Inter- 7 nal Revenue Code of 1986) from the pri- 8 vate landowner if the eligible entity con- 9 tributes its own cash resources in an 10 amount that is at least 25 percent of the 11 amount contributed by the Secretary. 12 (C) EXCEPTION.—For purposes of sub- 13 paragraph (B)(ii), the Secretary may waive any 14 portion of the eligible entity cash contribution 15 requirement for projects of special significance, 16 subject to an increase in the private landowner 17 donation that is equal to the amount of the 18 waiver, if the donation is voluntary and the 19 property is in active agricultural production. 20 (3) EVALUATION AND RANKING OF APPLICA- 21 TIONS.— 22 (A) CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall estab- 23 lish evaluation and ranking criteria to maximize 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5266.IH H5266 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 5266 IH the benefit of Federal investment under the 1 program. 2 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In establishing the 3 criteria, the Secretary shall emphasize support 4 for— 5 (i) improving community food secu- 6 rity; and 7 (ii) facilitating improved access to 8 cropland for beginning and socially dis- 9 advantaged producers and producer 10 groups. 11 (C) BIDDING DOWN.—If the Secretary de- 12 termines that 2 or more applications for cost- 13 share assistance are comparable in achieving 14 the purpose of the program, the Secretary shall 15 not assign a higher priority to any of those ap- 16 plications solely on the basis of lesser cost to 17 the program. 18 (4) AGREEMENTS WITH ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 20 enter into agreements with eligible entities to 21 stipulate the terms and conditions under which 22 the eligible entity is permitted to use cost-share 23 assistance provided under this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5266.IH H5266 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 5266 IH (B) LENGTH OF AGREEMENTS.—An agree- 1 ment shall be for a term that is— 2 (i) in the case of an eligible entity cer- 3 tified under the process described in para- 4 graph (5), a minimum of 5 years; and 5 (ii) for all other eligible entities, at 6 least 3, but not more than 5 years. 7 (C) MINIMUM TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 8 An eligible entity shall be authorized to use its 9 own terms and conditions for urban agricultural 10 land easements so long as the Secretary deter- 11 mines such terms and conditions— 12 (i) are consistent with the purposes of 13 the program; 14 (ii) permit effective enforcement of 15 the purposes of such easements; 16 (iii) include a right of enforcement for 17 the Secretary, that may be used only if the 18 terms of the easement are not enforced by 19 the holder of the easement; 20 (iv) subject the land in which an in- 21 terest is purchased to an urban agricul- 22 tural land easement plan that describes the 23 activities which promote the long-term via- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5266.IH H5266 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 5266 IH bility of the land to meet the purposes for 1 which the easement was acquired; and 2 (v) do not limit the generation of 3 profit through agricultural activities on the 4 land. 5 (D) SUBSTITUTION OF QUALIFIED 6 PROJECTS.—An agreement shall allow, upon 7 mutual agreement of the parties, substitution of 8 qualified projects that are identified at the time 9 of the proposed substitution. 10 (E) EFFECT OF VIOLATION.—If a violation 11 occurs of a term or condition of an agreement 12 under this subsection— 13 (i) the Secretary may terminate the 14 agreement; and 15 (ii) the Secretary may require the eli- 16 gible entity to refund all or part of any 17 payments received by the entity under the 18 program, with interest on the payments as 19 determined appropriate by the Secretary. 20 (5) CERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 21 (A) CERTIFICATION PROCESS.—The Sec- 22 retary shall establish a process under which the 23 Secretary may— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5266.IH H5266 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 5266 IH (i) directly certify eligible entities that 1 meet established criteria; 2 (ii) enter into long-term agreements 3 with certified eligible entities; and 4 (iii) accept proposals for cost-share 5 assistance for the purchase of urban agri- 6 cultural land easements throughout the du- 7 ration of such agreements. 8 (B) CERTIFICATION CRITERIA.—In order 9 to be certified, an eligible entity shall dem- 10 onstrate to the Secretary that the entity will 11 maintain, at a minimum, for the duration of the 12 agreement— 13 (i) a plan for administering easements 14 that is consistent with the purpose of the 15 program; 16 (ii) the capacity and resources to 17 monitor and enforce urban agricultural 18 land easements; and 19 (iii) policies and procedures to en- 20 sure— 21 (I) the long-term integrity of 22 urban agricultural land easements on 23 eligible land; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5266.IH H5266 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •HR 5266 IH (II) timely completion of acquisi- 1 tions of such easements; and 2 (III) timely and complete evalua- 3 tion and reporting to the Secretary on 4 the use of funds provided under the 5 program. 6 (C) REVIEW AND REVISION.— 7 (i) REVIEW.—The Secretary shall con- 8 duct a review of eligible entities certified 9 under subparagraph (A) every three years 10 to ensure that such entities are meeting 11 the criteria established under subpara- 12 graph (B). 13 (ii) REVOCATION.—If the Secretary 14 finds that a certified eligible entity no 15 longer meets the criteria established under 16 subparagraph (B), the Secretary may— 17 (I) allow the certified eligible en- 18 tity a specified period of time, at a 19 minimum 180 days, in which to take 20 such actions as may be necessary to 2 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]