AB 2178: Limited service charitable feeding operation.

Existing law, the California Retail Food Code, establishes uniform health and sanitation standards for retail food facilities for regulation by the State Department of Public Health, and requires local enforcement agencies to enforce those provisions. Existing law defines food facility as an operation that stores, prepares, packages, serves, vends, or otherwise provides food for human consumption at the retail level, as specified. Existing law regulates temporary food facilities and nonprofit charitable temporary food facilities, as specified. Existing law exempts, among others, a nonprofit association that gives or sells food to its members and guests and not to the general public, as specified, from the definition of food facility. A violation of the California Retail Food Code is generally a misdemeanor.

This bill would exempt a limited service charitable feeding operation from the definition of food facility. The bill would define that operation as an operation for food service to a consumer solely for providing charity, that is conducted by a nonprofit charitable organization, as defined, and whose food service is limited to any of specified functions. The bill would specify that the operation would not include a temporary food facility or a nonprofit charitable temporary food facility, as specified. The bill would prohibit the operation from providing food service unless it has registered with the local enforcement agency, with specified exceptions involving performance of a certain function or operation in conjunction with a food bank, and would require a limited service charitable feeding operation subject to registration, or a food bank, if applicable, to submit certain information to the agency.

The bill would exempt a limited service charitable feeding operation from the requirements of the California Retail Food Code, except for specified general food safety and other requirements. The bill would require the operation to comply with best management practices approved by the local enforcement agency. The bill would, among other things, authorize the operation to distribute food in an outdoor location, as specified, in compliance with the approved best management practices and subject to approval by the local enforcement agency, with food service limited to no more than 4 hours per day.

By creating a new crime and by imposing duties on local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would authorize the local enforcement agency to recover the reasonable regulatory costs of the administration, implementation, investigation, and enforcement of the above-described provisions from a limited service charitable feeding operation.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 113789 of the Health and Safety Code proposed by AB 626 and AB 2524 to be operative only if this bill and AB 626, this bill and AB 2524, or all 3 bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.