Report Title:

Education; School Meals

Description:

Adds a definition of "school meals" to include breakfast and lunch; clarifies that the department of education shall set prices for all school meals, based on the previous year's cost.  (SD1)

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	160
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO SCHOOL MEALS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  The intent of this Act is to modify the manner by which prices for school meals, currently including lunch and breakfast, are determined.  The costs of food, fuel, and labor increase each year and the department of education requires a way to adjust the price of school meals in order to maintain that the cost to the students shall be no less than one—half of the cost of preparing the meals.  Currently, the Hawaii Revised Statutes provide for the method of determining school lunch prices and the breakfast price is set by administrative rule.    The purpose of this Act is to authorize the same method for pricing both lunch and breakfast.

     SECTION 2.  Section 302A-101, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:

     ""School meals" means breakfast and lunch prepared and served by a school cafeteria."

     SECTION 3.  Section 302A-404, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§302A-404[]]  School [lunches.] meals.  School [lunches] meals shall be made available under the school [lunch] meals program in every school where the students are required to eat [lunch] meals at school."

     SECTION 4.  Section 302A-405, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

     "(a)  The price for [the] school [lunch] meals shall be set by the department to ensure that moneys received from the sale of the [lunches may] meals shall be not less than [up to] one-half of the cost of preparing the [school lunch] meals.  The [price] prices for [the] school [lunch shall] meals may be adjusted annually based on the [average cost of preparing the school lunch over the three years preceding any increase;] previous year's costs rounded to the nearest five cents; provided that the department by rule shall provide a lower rate or free [lunches] meals to children based on their economic need."

     SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2009.