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LD2004 • 2025

An Act to Enhance Support of Local Nutrition Incentive Programs by Modifying the Eligibility Requirements of the Fund to Address Food Insecurity and Provide Nutrition Incentives

An Act to Enhance Support of Local Nutrition Incentive Programs by Modifying the Eligibility Requirements of the Fund to Address Food Insecurity and Provide Nutrition Incentives

Agriculture
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Senator Henry Ingwersen
Last action
2026-03-03
Official status
Signed by the Governor
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act to Enhance Support of Local Nutrition Incentive Programs by Modifying the Eligibility Requirements of the Fund to Address Food Insecurity and Provide Nutrition Incentives

An Act to Enhance Support of Local Nutrition Incentive Programs by Modifying the Eligibility Requirements of the Fund to Address Food Insecurity and Provide Nutrition Incentives Sponsor: Senator Henry Ingwersen Reference committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Governor action: Signed by the Governor

What This Bill Does

  • An Act to Enhance Support of Local Nutrition Incentive Programs by Modifying the Eligibility Requirements of the Fund to Address Food Insecurity and Provide Nutrition Incentives Sponsor: Senator Henry Ingwersen Reference committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Governor action: Signed by the Governor

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-03 Governor

    Signed by the Governor

  2. 2026-02-26 Senate

    PASSED TO BE ENACTED , in concurrence.

  3. 2026-02-24 House

    PASSED TO BE ENACTED . ROLL CALL NO. 620 (Yeas 128 - Nays 0 - Absent 20 - Excused 1 - Vacant 2) Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH.

  4. 2026-01-29 Committee

    Reported Out; OTP

  5. 2026-01-15 Committee

    Work Session Held

  6. 2026-01-15 Committee

    Voted; OTP

  7. 2025-12-03 Committee

    Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

Official Summary Text

An Act to Enhance Support of Local Nutrition Incentive Programs by Modifying the Eligibility Requirements of the Fund to Address Food Insecurity and Provide Nutrition Incentives
Sponsor:
Senator Henry Ingwersen
Reference committee:
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Governor action:
Signed by the Governor

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Page 1 - 132LR2775(03)
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-SIX
_____
S.P. 820 - L.D. 2004
An Act to Enhance Support of Local Nutrition Incentive Programs by
Modifying the Eligibility Requirements of the Fund to Address Food
Insecurity and Provide Nutrition Incentives
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 7 MRSA §219-B, as corrected by RR 2021, c. 1, Pt. A, §7, is amended to
read:
§219-B. Fund To Address Food Insecurity and Provide Nutrition Incentives
1. Fund established. The Fund To Address Food Insecurity and Provide Nutrition
Incentives, referred to in this section as "the fund," is established in the department to
provide incentives to federal food and nutrition assistance program participants for the
purchase of locally grown fruits and vegetables and to support outreach for and
administration of programs that offer nutrition incentives to participants of federal food and
nutrition assistance programs. The fund is established to match contributions from private
and public sources of up to $50,000 annually to further the purposes of this section. The
fund, to be accounted within the department, must be held separate and apart from all other
money, funds and accounts. Eligible investment earnings credited to the assets of the fund
become part of the assets of the fund. Any unexpended balances remaining in the fund at
the end of any fiscal year do not lapse and must be carried forward to the next fiscal year.
For purposes of this section, "local" means within the State.
2. Fund recipients. An organization based in the State that supports local food
producers, local food production or low-income individuals in receiving food and nutrition
assistance may receive proceeds from the fund upon application with the department. The
department shall prioritize an applicant that has a demonstrated history of incentivizing the
use of federal food and nutrition assistance programs to purchase locally grown fruits and
vegetables or that demonstrates the ability to leverage the proceeds to match or receive
additional funds from local, state, federal or private sources. The department shall
periodically post a request for applications for eligible organizations to apply for fund
proceeds.
3. Report; audit. The department shall require a periodic report from a recipient
under subsection 2 detailing the use of fund proceeds and the federal food and nutrition
APPROVED
MARCH 3, 2026
BY GOVERNOR
CHAPTER
543
PUBLIC LAW
Page 2 - 132LR2775(03)
assistance programs involved and to ensure that the funds are expended appropriately
pursuant to this section. The department may audit a recipient to carry out the purposes of
this subsection.
4. Rules. The department may adopt routine technical rules as defined in Title 5,
chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A to carry out the purposes of the fund, including application
criteria and procedures for recipients, disbursement of funds to recipients and for outreach
and administration purposes and reporting and audit procedures for recipients.