AB 1734: Count Hunger Act.

Session Year: 2025-2026
House: Assembly
Latest Version Date: 2026-06-15

Current Status:

In Progress

(2026-06-29: In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.)

Introduced

In Committee

First Chamber

In Committee

Second Chamber

Enacted

Version:

Existing law declares the established policy of the state that every human being has the right to access sufficient affordable and healthy food. Existing law defines food insecurity as the occasional or constant lack of access to the food one needs to live a healthy life and the uncertainty of being able to acquire enough food to meet the needs of an individual or household due to insufficient money or other resources.

Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to consider the above-described state policy when establishing grant criteria pertinent to the distribution of sufficient affordable food. Existing law requires the department to administer or oversee various programs addressing nutrition, including, among other things, pupil access to healthy food and the California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.This bill, the Count Hunger Act, would require the department to establish a 2-year pilot program, in collaboration with the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), to ensure that certain sets of questions linked to food insecurity are funded and covered within the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS). The bill would define CHIS as the statewide health survey administered by UCLA and conducted annually through interviews with thousands of households in the state, as specified. Under the bill, the CHIS portion relating to food insecurity would apply to all households whose income is at or below 400% of the federal poverty level. The bill would require UCLA, in collaboration with the department, to publish any available statewide-, regional-, and county-level data, as feasible, that are linked to the food insecurity portion, as specified.The bill would condition implementation of these provisions on an appropriation by the Legislature and a resolution by the Regents of the University of California, for implementation in the 2027 and 2028 calendar years or as otherwise specified. The bill would specify the intent of the Legislature that an appropriation for these purposes consist of grants or other contributions from local, private, or philanthropic sources for the purposes of the bill.

Existing law establishes the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education within this state. The University of California comprises 10 institutions of higher education located at various campuses, including in the City of Los Angeles.

This bill, the Count Hunger Act, would encourage the University of California, Los Angeles, in administering the California Health Interview Survey, to expand the portion of the survey relating to food insecurity to include households with incomes at or below 400% of the federal poverty level. The bill would further encourage the University of California, Los Angeles, to make available statewide, regional, and county-level data regarding food insecurity among households with incomes at or below 400% of the federal poverty level through the AskCHIS reporting tool or a successor public reporting platform, as specified. The bill would encourage these provisions to be undertaken only to the extent that the University of California, Los Angeles, determines sufficient resources are available.

Discussed in Hearing