AB 1734: Count Hunger Act.
<p>The Count Hunger Act requires the California Department of Public Health to establish a two-year pilot program with UCLA. This program will fund and cover questions related to food insecurity within the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS). The survey's food insecurity portion applies to households earning at or below 400% of the federal poverty level. UCLA, in collaboration with the department, must publish statewide-, regional-, and county-level data linked to food insecurity as feasible. Implementation is contingent on legislative appropriation and UC regents' resolution for the years 2027 and 2028.</p>
| Aug. 13, 2026 | In committee: Held under submission. |
| Jun. 29, 2026 | In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| Jun. 17, 2026 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 17). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun. 15, 2026 | Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on ED. |
| Jun. 11, 2026 | From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on ED. (Ayes 10. Noes 0.) (June 10). |
| Amended IN Senate June 15, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly May 18, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly April 16, 2026 |
| Introduced by Assembly Member Stefani (Coauthors: Assembly Members Garcia, Harabedian, Rogers, and Schiavo) |
February 05, 2026 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
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.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Count Hunger Act.For purposes of this chapter, “California Health Interview Survey” or “CHIS” means the statewide health survey administered by the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in collaboration with state departments and other agencies, and conducted annually through interviews with thousands of households in the state. The survey addresses various health matters, including, but not limited to, use of and access to health care, health conditions and behaviors, and a range of topics that influence health, such as public program participation, housing, income and employment, climate change, food, gun violence, and adverse childhood experiences.
(a)The State Department of Public Health shall establish a two-year pilot program, in collaboration with UCLA, to ensure that the sets of questions linked to food insecurity, as those sets were implemented in the California Health Interview Survey for the 2025 calendar year, are funded and covered within the CHIS for purposes of the two years of the pilot program as described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (d).
(b)Within the sample of households surveyed for CHIS purposes, the CHIS portion relating to food insecurity, as described in subdivision (a), shall apply to all households whose income is at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level.
(c)(1)UCLA, in collaboration with the department and upon receipt of funding pursuant to subdivision (d), shall publish any available statewide-, regional-, and county-level data, as feasible, that are linked to the food insecurity portion described in subdivision (a). UCLA shall post those data on the AskCHIS reporting tool of the CHIS internet website in a manner accessible to the public.
(2)Data published or posted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall exclude any personally identifiable information.
(d)(1)(A)This section shall be implemented upon an appropriation made by the Legislature for this purpose.
(B)It is the intent of the Legislature that an appropriation pursuant to subparagraph (A) consist of moneys from grants or other contributions from local, private, or philanthropic sources for the purposes expressed in this chapter.
(2)This section shall not be applicable to UCLA unless the Regents of the University of California, by resolution, make this section applicable.
(3)The two-year pilot program described in this section shall be implemented for the 2027 and 2028 calendar years, or two subsequent calendar years, whichever is earlier based on when the appropriation described in paragraph (1) is made available.
SEC. 2.
Chapter 26 (commencing with Section 28050) is added to Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:CHAPTER 26. California Health Interview Survey
28050.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares that food insecurity is an urgent, nutrition-related health crisis for Californians that experience it.28051.
(a) The Legislature encourages 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 percent of the federal poverty level.