Healthy School Meals for All Program

Joint Budget Committee. The healthy school meals for all program (program) reimburses participating school food authorities for meals that those authorities provide to students without charge. Section 2 of the bill allows for the amount of these reimbursements to be modified in 2 different scenarios. First, if a referred measure that would, beginning with the 2026 state income tax year, increase state taxes annually by at least $90 million in combination with the income tax deduction modification that was approved by the voters in connection with the program, result in the collection of at least $150 million for the income tax year commencing on January 1, 2026, in connection with the program, is not approved by the voters voting on the referred measure at the 2025 statewide election, the department of education (department) is required to only provide reimbursements to participating school food authorities for meals served at eligible sites. Eligible sites are those that either:

• Qualify for the community eligibility provision program, as that program exists on November 15, 2025; or
• Is Are identified as an eligible site sites by the department based on the amount that the general assembly appropriates for the purpose of providing reimbursements to a participating school food authority for offering eligible meals without charge and the percentage of a site's student enrollment who are certified as eligible for free meals based on documentation of benefit receipt or categorical eligibility as described in federal rule, or any successor regulations.

Second, if the department, in consultation with the office of state planning and budgeting, determines that the amount that the general assembly appropriated for the purpose of providing reimbursements to a participating school food authority is less than the costs of the department providing those reimbursements, the department may request a supplemental appropriation or an overexpenditure. If that request is rejected, the department may determine a prorated reimbursement amount for the reimbursements that the department provides through the program to each participating school food authority for the remainder of that budget year.

Under current law, if the department determines that there is an insufficient amount of money in the healthy school meals for all program cash fund (fund) for the department to provide reimbursements to a participating school food authority for offering eligible meals without charge, the department may make an expenditure from the general fund to provide those reimbursements. Sections 4 and 6 limit this expenditure authority to fiscal years commencing on or before July 1, 2024.

Additionally, under current law, the general assembly is required to appropriate money from the state education fund to cover program costs for which there is not sufficient money in the fund for state fiscal years 2023-24 and 2024-25. Section 3 allows the general assembly to appropriate money from the state education fund into state fiscal year 2025-26. Section 4 requires the department, on January 15, 2027, in consultation with the office of state planning and budgeting, to report to the joint budget committee on whether there is a sufficient balance in the fund for:

• The state treasurer to transfer an amount from the fund to the state education fund equal to the total amount of expenditures from the state education fund for the program for state fiscal years 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26 minus the amount of additional tax revenue deposited in the state education fund as a result of the increase in state income tax generated in connection with voter approval of the program for those same fiscal years; and
• The department to provide reimbursements to a participating school food authority for offering eligible meals without charge.

Section 8 decreases the appropriation for school meal reimbursements provided through the program from the general fund by $42,240,242 and increases the appropriation from the state education fund by $8,119,271 for the same purpose.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)