California 20252026 Regular Session Status: Passed Senate 1 D cosponsors

SB 18 — Food Desert Elimination Grant Program.

Last action — August 29 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed Assembly
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced December 02, 2024. It now moves to the second chamber.

Next likely step: consideration and a floor vote in the Assembly.

Odds of enactment

Moderate chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a moderate chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 48% · moderate confidence

  • Passed Senate

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 D).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 5 recorded votes so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Existing law creates the Office of Farm to Fork within the Department of Food and Agriculture, and requires the office, to the extent that resources are available, to work with various entities, as prescribed, to increase the amount of agricultural products available to underserved communities and schools in the state. Existing law requires the office, among other things, to identify distribution barriers that affect limited food access and work to overcome those barriers through various actions and to coordinate with school districts and representatives to increase the nutritional profile of foods provided in schools. This bill would create the Food Desert Elimination Grant Program under the administration of the department for the purpose of expanding access to healthy foods in food deserts, as defined, in the state, and areas at risk of becoming food deserts, by providing grants to grocery store operators, as specified. The bill would create the Food Desert Elimination Fund in the General Fund and would authorize the fund to be expended by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of the program. The bill would authorize the department to collect nonstate, federal, and private funds, require those funds to be deposited into the California Equitable Food Access Account within the Food Desert Elimination Fund, and continuously appropriate moneys in the account to the department for purposes of the program. The bill would authorize the department to award grants for specified purposes to grocery store operators seeking to locate grocery stores in food deserts or to existing grocery stores located in food deserts. The bill would authorize the department to adopt guidelines to implement these provisions. The bill would make the implementation of all of its provisions contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would repeal its provisions on December 31, 2030.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. August 29 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.

  2. July 16 set for first hearing. Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  3. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (July 2). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  4. Referred to Com. on AGRI.

  5. In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

  6. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 38. Noes 0. Page 1322.) Ordered to the Assembly.

  7. Ordered to special consent calendar.

  8. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 6. Noes 0. Page 1187.) (May 23).

  9. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  10. Set for hearing May 23.

  11. May 19 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  12. Set for hearing May 19.

  13. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  14. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  15. From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 4. Noes 0. Page 932.) (April 29).

  16. Set for hearing April 29.

  17. Re-referred to Com. on AGRI.

  18. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

  19. Referred to Com. on RLS.

  20. From printer. May be acted upon on or after January 2.

  21. Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 121 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (121)

121 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 121 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

Passed 7 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 3000
Democratic 4001
Total 7001
% of votes cast 88%0%0%13%
How each member voted (8)
Member Party Vote
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Not Voting
Connolly, Damon Democratic Yea
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Ransom, Rhodesia Democratic Yea
Soria, Esmeralda Democratic Yea
Alanis, Juan Republican Yea
Gonzalez, Jeff Republican Yea
Hadwick, Heather Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Special Consent SB18 Rubio et al.

Passed 38 Yea · 0 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 28002
Republican 10000
Total 38002
% of votes cast 95%0%0%5%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Allen, Benjamin Democratic Yea
Archuleta, Bob Democratic Yea
Arreguín, Jesse Democratic Yea
Ashby, Angelique V. Democratic Yea
Becker, Josh Democratic Yea
Blakespear, Catherine S. Democratic Yea
Cabaldon, Christopher Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Yea
Cortese, Dave Democratic Yea
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Gonzalez, Lena A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Yea
Hurtado, Melissa Democratic Yea
Laird, John Democratic Yea
Limón, Monique Democratic Not Voting
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
McNerney, Jerry Democratic Yea
Menjivar, Caroline Democratic Yea
Padilla, Stephen C. Democratic Yea
Pérez, Sasha Renée Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Not Voting
Richardson, Laura Democratic Yea
Rubio, Susan Democratic Yea
Smallwood-Cuevas, Lola Democratic Yea
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Wahab, Aisha Democratic Yea
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah Democratic Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea
Alvarado-Gil, Marie Republican Yea
Choi, Steven S. Republican Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Yea
Grove, Shannon Republican Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Yea
Niello, Roger W. Republican Yea
Ochoa Bogh, Rosilicie Republican Yea
Seyarto, Kelly Republican Yea
Strickland, Tony Republican Yea
Valladares, Suzette Martinez Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety health-insurance agriculture
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 18 do?
Existing law creates the Office of Farm to Fork within the Department of Food and Agriculture, and requires the office, to the extent that resources are available, to work with various entities, as prescribed, to increase the amount of agricultural products available to underserved communities and schools in the state. Existing law requires the office, among other things, to identify distribution barriers that affect limited food access and work to overcome those barriers through various actions and to coordinate with school districts and representatives to increase the nutritional profile of foods provided in schools. This bill would create the Food Desert Elimination Grant Program under the administration of the department for the purpose of expanding access to healthy foods in food deserts, as defined, in the state, and areas at risk of becoming food deserts, by providing grants to grocery store operators, as specified. The bill would create the Food Desert Elimination Fund in the General Fund and would authorize the fund to be expended by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of the program. The bill would authorize the department to collect nonstate, federal, and private funds, require those funds to be deposited into the California Equitable Food Access Account within the Food Desert Elimination Fund, and continuously appropriate moneys in the account to the department for purposes of the program. The bill would authorize the department to award grants for specified purposes to grocery store operators seeking to locate grocery stores in food deserts or to existing grocery stores located in food deserts. The bill would authorize the department to adopt guidelines to implement these provisions. The bill would make the implementation of all of its provisions contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would repeal its provisions on December 31, 2030.
Who sponsors SB 18?
SB 18 is sponsored by Rubio, Susan (Democratic).
What is the current status of SB 18?
This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced December 02, 2024. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track SB 18?
Track SB 18 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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