Water, Energy, Land, and Food Forum at the Capitol March 17th
Join KRC along with partners and people from all over Kansas on March 17th at the Kansas State House to learn about water, energy, land, & food policy in Kansas, and how to effectively advocate for positive change on these issues.
The Legislative Day will begin at 10 a.m. There will be a Climate Prayer vigil from 9 to 10 a.m. that everyone is welcome to attend.
The agenda for the day includes the following:
10:00-11:30 Advocacy Overview(Visitor’s Center Auditorium)
10:00-4:00 Solutions Showcase (1st Floor Rotunda)
11:30-1:00 Speakers & Local Foods Lunch (1st Floor Rotunda, North Wing)
2:00-3:00 Cookies & Conservation Conversation (1st Floor Rotunda)
This week HB 2595 was debated and passed by the Commerce, Labor and Economic Development committee with amendments that narrowed its scope. Additional amendments within the next couple of weeks are anticipated as the bill moves to the House to be debated. Amendments will be posed to the bill website.
The original bill preempted local efforts to address food based disparities and to make the healthy choice the easy choice in settings such as restaurants, retail food establishments and vending machines. There was concern the bill could also negatively affect momentum around local food systems development.
SB 314 Update
SB 314, extending the work of the Local Food and Farm Task Force, was passed out of the Senate this week with only one vote against. A few amendments were made to the bill. These amendments can be found on the bill website,
http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2015_16/measures/sb314/
SB 314calls for the extension of the Local Food and Farm Task Force. The extension will allow the task force to continue evaluating policy and funding recommendations for expanding and supporting local food systems and for assessing and overcoming obstacles necessary to increase locally grown food production.
Thank you to all of you for your efforts on these bills the past few weeks!
This work is part of KRC's "Community Food Solutions for a Healthier Kansas" initiative that aims to advance seven key public policy solutions to better incorporate Kansas farms into the supply chain thereby potentially improving Kansas's economy, community, environment, and health status. For more information about this initiative visit kansasruralcenter.org/cfs.
