Healthy School Meals for All Program

The bill refers 2 ballot issues to the voters at the November 2025 statewide election concerning funding for the healthy school meals for all program.

Section 2 of the bill refers a ballot issue to the voters at the November 2025 statewide election to allow the state to retain and spend state revenue that would otherwise need to be refunded for exceeding the estimate in the ballot information booklet analysis for Proposition FF and to allow the state to maintain the increases in state taxable income established in Proposition FF that would otherwise need to be decreased. If voters reject the ballot issue, the state will both:

• Refund $26,265,621 to individuals who have a federal taxable income of $300,000 or more and claimed itemized or standard state income tax deductions greater than $12,000 for single tax return filers and $16,000 for joint tax return filers; and
• Adjust the limit on itemized deductions established in Proposition FF to a level that would have reduced the amount of income tax revenue attributable to these itemized deductions by $26,265,621.

If voters approve the ballot measure:

• The state will not refund $26,265,621 to individuals who have a federal taxable income of $300,000 or more and claimed itemized or standard state income tax deductions greater than $12,000 for single tax return filers and $16,000 for joint tax return filers; and
• The increases in federal taxable income as a result of Proposition FF will stay at the levels established by Proposition FF.

Section 3 refers a ballot issue to the voters at the November 2025 statewide election to allow the state to increase taxes by $95 million annually by increasing state taxable income to support the healthy school meals for all program. If voters approve the ballot issue:

• Income tax deductions for individuals who have a federal taxable income of $300,000 or more will be reduced from current levels to $1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for joint filers; and
• The state will allocate the additional revenue generated by the reduction in income tax deductions to the healthy school meals for all program.

If voters reject the ballot issue, income tax deductions will not be reduced.

In addition to the income tax changes and potential refunds that may result from voters approving or rejecting the ballot issues described in sections 2 and 3 , the bill also changes the healthy school meals for all program cash fund (fund) and healthy school meals for all programs. If voters approve the ballot issue submitted pursuant to section 2 and reject the ballot issue submitted pursuant to section 3 , $1 million is transferred annually from the fund to local school food purchasing programs. If voters approve the ballot issue submitted pursuant to section 3 , regardless of whether the voters approve the ballot issue submitted pursuant to section 2 :

• The permissible distribution of local food purchasing grants is modified;
• Certain school food authorities are allowed to collaborate to implement advisory committees;
• The duties of an advisory committee are clarified; and
• The distribution of funds from the fund is changed so that the amounts distributed through local food purchasing grants for increasing wages or providing stipends for individuals whom the participating school food authority employs to directly prepare and serve food for school meals and through the local school food purchasing technical assistance and education grant program are modified based on the amount of money in the fund.
  (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)