2-3805. Local food and farm task force; membership; duties. (a) There is hereby established the local food and farm task force. The local food and farm task force shall be comprised of seven members, as follows:

(1) Three members appointed by the governor, including the chairperson of the task force;

(2) one member representing the Kansas department of agriculture appointed by the secretary of agriculture;

(3) one member representing the Kansas state university extension systems and agriculture research programs appointed by the dean of the college of agriculture of Kansas state university; and

(4) one member of the house committee on agriculture and natural resources appointed by the chairperson of the house committee on agriculture and natural resources and one member of the senate committee on agriculture appointed by the chairperson of the senate committee on agriculture. The legislative members shall be from different political parties.

(b) Members shall be appointed to the task force on or before August 1, 2014. The first meeting of the task force shall be called by the chairperson on or before September 1, 2014. Any vacancy in the membership of the task force shall be filled by appointment in the same manner prescribed by this section for the original appointment.

(c) (1) The task force may meet at any time and at any place within the state on the call of the chairperson. A quorum of the task force shall be four members. All actions of the task force shall be by motion adopted by a majority of those members present when there is a quorum.

 (2) The staff of the Kansas department of agriculture and the legislative research department shall provide such assistance as may be requested by the task force. To facilitate the organization and start-up of such plan and structure, the Kansas department of agriculture shall provide administrative assistance.

(d) The local food and farm task force shall prepare a local food and farm plan containing policy and funding recommendations for expanding and supporting local food systems and for assessing and overcoming obstacles necessary to increase locally grown food production. The task force chairperson shall submit such plan to the senate committee on agriculture and the house committee on agriculture and natural resources at the beginning of the 2016 regular session of the legislature. The plan shall include:

(1) Identification of financial opportunities, technical support and training necessary for local and specialty crop production;

(2) identification of strategies and funding needs to make fresh and affordable locally grown foods more accessible;

(3) identification of existing local food infrastructures for processing, storing and distributing food and recommendations for potential expansion; and

(4) strategies for encouragement of farmers' markets, roadside markets and local grocery stores in unserved and underserved areas.

(e) The task force shall cease to exist on December 31, 2015.

History: L. 2014, ch. 133, § 15; July 1.