A3825

An Act concerning the establishment, by the Department of Agriculture, of a grant program to support nonprofit seafood gleaning operations, supplementing Title 4 of the Revised Statutes, and making an appropriation.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. As used in this section, “seafood gleaning” means the act of collecting and donating excess fresh fish from fishers, vessels, docks, research or educational vessels, enforcement actions, seafood processors, aquaculture sites, or any other source.

b. The Department of Agriculture shall, within the limits of monies appropriated for such purposes, establish and implement a grant program to support seafood gleaning programs operated by eligible nonprofit organizations in the State. A nonprofit organization shall be eligible for a grant under the program if the organization operates a seafood gleaning program, pursuant to which gleaned seafood received from commercial fishermen, is donated, by the receiving nonprofit, to emergency feeding organizations and local distribution agencies, including, but not limited to, food pantries, shelters, and soup kitchens, for further distribution to food insecure and low-income individuals and families in the State.

c. In order to effectuate the grant program instituted pursuant to this section, the department shall:

(1) establish criteria that is supplemental to, but consistent with, the basic eligibility criteria set forth in subsection b. of this section, to be used in qualifying an eligible nonprofit organization for a program grant award;

(2) adopt guidelines and procedures for the submission of grant applications, including, but not limited to, guidelines and procedures addressing the form and manner in which such applications are to be submitted;

(3) establish criteria for the evaluation and prioritization of program grant applications;

(4) identify the seafood gleaning-related project costs that are eligible for financing through the use of program grant funding, and identify the specific factors that will be considered, by the department, in determining the appropriate dollar amount of each grant award issued under the program; and

(5) identify the terms and conditions for the awarding of a program grant, and for the use of program grant funds awarded, under this section, including, at a minimum, conditions requiring the recipient of a grant award to report relevant information, to the department, regarding the recipient’s expenditure of grant funds awarded thereto under the program.

d. The department shall submit a written report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature, during each year in which a grant is awarded pursuant to this section. Each such report shall identify the name of each nonprofit organization that has received a program grant during the annual reporting period and, for each such grant recipient, shall provide a description of the recipient’s seafood gleaning program and identify the total amount of seafood annually donated through the gleaning program, the total number of employees and volunteers participating in the seafood gleaning program, and the total number, and location, of recipients of seafood that has been donated, under the seafood gleaning program, during the reporting period.

e. In addition to the funds appropriated for the grant program’s purposes, pursuant to section 2 of this act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall include, with each annual budget request submitted for the Department of Agriculture, a request for annual funding sufficient to implement the provisions of this section.

f. The Department of Agriculture shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this section.

2. There is appropriated, from the General Fund to the Department of Agriculture, the sum of $250,000 for the purposes of financing initial grant awards under section 1 of this act and up to 10 percent of the amount appropriated for the purposes of financing the administrative costs incurred by the department in association with its implementation and operation of the grant program, as required by this act, including, but not limited to, the costs of employing a staff person to administer and manage the grant program and to serve as a contact and resource for grant applicants; the costs associated with the department’s engagement in program-related outreach to eligible nonprofit organizations; and the costs associated with the department’s evaluation and monitoring of seafood gleaning program outcomes in association with its implementation of the grant program established pursuant to section 1 of this act.

3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill would direct the Department of Agriculture (“department”) to establish a program, subject to the availability of appropriated funds, to provide grants to support seafood gleaning programs operated by eligible non-profit organizations in the State. A nonprofit organization would be eligible for a grant under the program, in a maximum amount of up to $250,000 per program year, if the organization operates a seafood gleaning program, pursuant to which, gleaned seafood received from commercial fishermen, are donated, by the receiving nonprofit organization, to emergency feeding organizations and local distribution agencies for further distribution, thereby, to food insecure and low-income individuals and families in the State.

In order to effectuate the grant program, the bill would require the department to: establish criteria, supplemental to, but consistent with, the basic eligibility criteria set forth in the bill, to be used in qualifying an eligible non-profit organization for a program grant award; adopt guidelines and procedures for the submission of grant applications; establish criteria for the evaluation and prioritization of program grant applications; identify the seafood gleaning-related project costs eligible for grant funding and the specific factors that will be considered, by the department, in determining the appropriate dollar amount of each grant award issued under the program; and identify the terms and conditions for the awarding and use of program grant funds, including, at a minimum, conditions requiring a grant recipient to report relevant information, to the department, regarding the recipient’s expenditure of awarded grant funds.

The bill would also require the department to submit a written report, to the Governor and the Legislature, identifying the name of each nonprofit organization awarded a program grant in the annual reporting period and providing, for each such grant recipient, a description of the organization’s seafood gleaning program and identify the total amount of seafood donated, per year, through the gleaning program, the total number of employees and volunteers participating in the seafood gleaning program, and the total number, and location, of recipients of seafood that has been donated, under the gleaning program, during the reporting period. The bill would appropriate $250,000 from the General Fund, to the Department of Agriculture, to finance initial program grants and administrative costs. The bill would additionally require the Secretary of Agriculture to annually request additional appropriations, as part of the department’s yearly budget proposal, as may be necessary to fund the grant program on an ongoing basis.