II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 786 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a new tax credit 

and grant program to stimulate investment and healthy nutrition options 

in food deserts, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 13, 2019 

Mr. WARNER (for himself, Mr. MORAN, Mrs. CAPITO, and Mr. CASEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish 

a new tax credit and grant program to stimulate investment and healthy nutrition options in food deserts, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Healthy Food Access 

5 for All Americans Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TAX CREDIT AND GRANT PROGRAM FOR SPECIAL 

7 ACCESS FOOD PROVIDERS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•S 786 IS

1 (1) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—Subpart D of 

2 part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal 

3 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 

4 end the following new section: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 45T. SPECIAL ACCESS FOOD PROVIDER CREDIT AND 

6 GRANT PROGRAM. 

7 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF CREDIT FOR GROCERY

8 STORES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, 

10 the special access food provider credit determined 

11 under this section for any taxable year is an amount 

12 equal to the lesser of— 

13 ‘‘(A) the amount of the allocation received 

14 by the taxpayer under subsection (d)(1)(A), or 

15 ‘‘(B) the amount equal to— 

16 ‘‘(i) in the case of a qualified grocery 

17 store which is placed in service during such 

18 taxable year by a taxpayer which has been 

19 certified as a special access food provider, 

20 15 percent of the basis of such grocery 

21 store, including any property used in the 

22 operation of such grocery store— 

23 ‘‘(I) which is acquired by the tax24 payer if the original use of such propVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•S 786 IS

1 erty commences with the taxpayer, 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(II) with respect to which de4 preciation (or amortization in lieu of 

5 depreciation) is allowable, or 

6 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a qualified renova7 tion area which is placed in service during 

8 such taxable year, 10 percent of the ren9 ovation expenditures incurred by a tax10 payer which has been certified as a special 

11 access food provider. 

12 ‘‘(2) RENOVATION EXPENDITURES.—For pur13 poses of paragraph (1)(B)(ii), the term ‘renovation 

14 expenditures’ means amounts chargeable to capital 

15 account and incurred for property (or additions or 

16 improvements to property) of a character subject to 

17 the allowance for depreciation in connection with the 

18 renovation or rehabilitation of a grocery store. 

19 ‘‘(b) GRANT PROGRAM FOR FOOD BANKS AND TEM20 PORARY ACCESS MERCHANTS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordina22 tion with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall, subject 

23 to the requirements of this section, provide a grant 

24 to any entity which has been certified as a special 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•S 786 IS

1 access food provider in an amount equal to the less2 er of— 

3 ‘‘(A) the amount of the allocation received 

4 by the entity under subsection (d)(1)(B), or 

5 ‘‘(B) the amount equal to— 

6 ‘‘(i) in the case of a permanent food 

7 bank which has been placed in service dur8 ing the taxable year by such provider, 15 

9 percent of any qualified construction ex10 penses incurred by such provider; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any provider which 

12 qualifies as a temporary access merchant, 

13 10 percent of any annual operational costs 

14 incurred by such provider. 

15 ‘‘(2) TIME FOR PAYMENT OF GRANT.—The Sec16 retary shall make payment of any grant under para17 graph (1) during the 60-day period beginning on the 

18 later of— 

19 ‘‘(A) the date of the application for certifi20 cation as a special access food provider, or 

21 ‘‘(B) the date— 

22 ‘‘(i) in the case of a permanent food 

23 bank, on which the food bank for which 

24 the grant is being made is placed in serv25 ice, or 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•S 786 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a temporary access 

2 merchant, the end of the taxable year in 

3 which the operational costs were incurred. 

4 ‘‘(3) GRANT NOT CONSIDERED INCOME FOR

5 PURPOSES OF TAXATION.—A grant under this sub6 section shall not be considered as gross income for 

7 purposes of this chapter. 

8 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION AS A SPECIAL ACCESS FOOD

9 PROVIDER.— 

10 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION.—Each applicant for certifi11 cation as a special access food provider shall submit, 

12 for each grocery store, food bank, mobile market, or 

13 farmers market, an application with the Secretary, 

14 at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

15 information as the Secretary may reasonably re16 quire. 

17 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—For 

18 purposes of certification as a special access food pro19 vider, the Secretary, in consultation with the Sec20 retary of Agriculture and the applicable regional 

21 community development entity, shall determine 

22 whether— 

23 ‘‘(A) in the case of an applicant seeking to 

24 construct, renovate, or rehabilitate a grocery 

25 store, whether such store— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•S 786 IS

1 ‘‘(i) following completion of such con2 struction, renovation, or rehabilitation, will 

3 qualify as a grocery store (as defined in 

4 subsection (h)(3)), 

5 ‘‘(ii) is located in a food desert on the 

6 date on which construction, renovation, or 

7 rehabilitation begins, 

8 ‘‘(iii) satisfies the eligibility criteria 

9 established for projects under the Healthy 

10 Food Financing Initiative established 

11 under section 243 of the Department of 

12 Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 

13 U.S.C. 6953), and 

14 ‘‘(iv) satisfies such other criteria as is 

15 determined appropriate by the Secretary, 

16 in consultation with the Secretary of Agri17 culture, or 

18 ‘‘(B) in the case of an applicant seeking to 

19 operate a permanent food bank or as a tem20 porary access merchant, whether such appli21 cant— 

22 ‘‘(i) is an entity for which no part of 

23 the net earnings of such entity inures to 

24 the benefit of any private shareholder or 

25 individual, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
7 

•S 786 IS

1 ‘‘(ii)(I) in the case of a permanent 

2 food bank, is located in a food desert on 

3 the date on which construction of such 

4 food bank begins, or 

5 ‘‘(II) in the case of a temporary ac6 cess merchant— 

7 ‘‘(aa) sells or provides food in 

8 any food desert for an average of— 

9 ‘‘(AA) in the case of a farm10 ers market, not less than 10 

11 hours (during daylight hours) 

12 each week during the calendar 

13 year, or 

14 ‘‘(BB) in the case of a tem15 porary access merchant which is 

16 not a farmers market, not less 

17 than 5 days and 50 hours each 

18 week during the calendar year, or 

19 ‘‘(bb) satisfies such requirements 

20 as are established by the Secretary of 

21 Agriculture to ensure an adequate 

22 level of food distribution within food 

23 deserts, 

24 ‘‘(iii) satisfies the eligibility criteria 

25 described in subparagraph (A)(iii), and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
8 

•S 786 IS

1 ‘‘(iv) satisfies such other criteria as is 

2 determined appropriate by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(3) NO ADDITIONAL USDA GRANTS FOR FARM4 ERS MARKETS.—A farmers market shall not be eligi5 ble for certification as a special access food provider 

6 during any period in which such farmers market re7 ceives funding pursuant to any other grant program 

8 administered by the Department of Agriculture 

9 (with the exception of grants provided pursuant to 

10 the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive under sec11 tion 4405 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy 

12 Act of 2008). 

13 ‘‘(d) ALLOCATION OF SPECIAL ACCESS FOOD PRO14 VIDER CREDITS AND GRANTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In each calendar year, the 

16 Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Ag17 riculture, shall provide allocations to entities which 

18 have been certified as special access food providers 

19 under subsection (c) to receive— 

20 ‘‘(A) in the case of an entity certified pur21 suant to subparagraph (A) of subsection (c)(2), 

22 a special access food provider credit for expend23 itures related to a qualified grocery store or 

24 qualified renovation area, and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
9 

•S 786 IS

1 ‘‘(B) in the case of an entity certified pur2 suant to subparagraph (B) of such subsection, 

3 grants for qualified construction expenses or 

4 operational costs incurred by such entity. 

5 ‘‘(2) DURATION OF GRANTS TO TEMPORARY AC6 CESS MERCHANTS.—In the case of a special access 

7 food provider which qualifies as a temporary access 

8 merchant, the Secretary shall provide the grant to 

9 such provider on an annual basis for a period of not 

10 greater than 10 years. 

11 ‘‘(e) RECAPTURE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3), 

13 the Secretary shall provide for recapturing the ben14 efit of any credit allowable or grant provided under 

15 this section with respect to any qualified grocery 

16 store, qualified renovation area, or permanent food 

17 bank which fails to satisfy the requirements under 

18 subsection (c)(2) during the 5-year period following 

19 the date on which such store, area, or food bank is 

20 placed in service. 

21 ‘‘(2) TEMPORARY ACCESS MERCHANT.—Subject 

22 to paragraph (3), the Secretary shall provide for re23 capturing the benefit of any grant provided under 

24 this section with respect to any temporary access 

25 merchant which fails to satisfy the requirements 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
10 

•S 786 IS

1 under subsection (c)(2) for any year during the pe2 riod described in subsection (d)(2). 

3 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—If, during any taxable 

4 year, a special access food provider fails to satisfy 

5 the requirements under subsection (c)(2), the tax 

6 under this chapter for such taxable year shall be in7 creased by an amount equal to the appropriate per8 centage of the credit or grant amount as is deter9 mined appropriate by the Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(f) BASIS REDUCTION.—The basis of any qualified 

11 grocery store, any grocery store which includes a qualified 

12 renovation area, or any food bank, mobile market, or 

13 farmers market shall be reduced by the amount of any 

14 credit or grant determined under this section with respect 

15 to such property. 

16 ‘‘(g) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary, in coordination 

17 with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall prescribe such reg18 ulations as may be appropriate to carry out this section, 

19 including regulations which— 

20 ‘‘(1) prevent the abuse of the purposes of this 

21 section, 

22 ‘‘(2) impose appropriate reporting require23 ments, and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
11 

•S 786 IS

1 ‘‘(3) ensure that non-metropolitan areas receive 

2 a proportional amount of allocations provided under 

3 subsection (d). 

4 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

5 ‘‘(1) FOOD DESERT.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘food desert’ 

7 means any population census tract in which— 

8 ‘‘(i) not less than 500 people, or 33 

9 percent of the population of such tract, re10 side— 

11 ‘‘(I) in the case of a tract located 

12 within a metropolitan area, more than 

13 1 mile from a grocery store, or 

14 ‘‘(II) in the case of a tract not lo15 cated within a metropolitan area, 

16 more than 10 miles from a grocery 

17 store, 

18 ‘‘(ii) the poverty rate for such tract is 

19 at least 20 percent, or 

20 ‘‘(iii)(I) in the case of a tract not lo21 cated within a metropolitan area, the me22 dian family income for such tract does not 

23 exceed 80 percent of statewide median 

24 family income, or 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
12 

•S 786 IS

1 ‘‘(II) in the case of a tract located 

2 within a metropolitan area, the median 

3 family income for such tract does not ex4 ceed 80 percent of the greater of statewide 

5 median family income or the metropolitan 

6 area median family income. 

7 ‘‘(B) AREAS NOT WITHIN CENSUS

8 TRACTS.—In the case of an area which is not 

9 tracted for population census tracts, the equiva10 lent county divisions (as defined by the Bureau 

11 of the Census) shall be used for purposes of de12 terminations of food deserts under this para13 graph. 

14 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF FOOD

15 DESERTS.—For purposes of determining wheth16 er a population census tract qualifies as a food 

17 desert for purposes of this section, the Sec18 retary shall make such determinations in co19 ordination with the Secretary of Agriculture in 

20 such manner as is determined appropriate, in21 cluding use of the Food Access Research Atlas 

22 established by the Department of Agriculture. 

23 ‘‘(2) GROCERIES.—The term ‘groceries’ 

24 means— 

25 ‘‘(A) fresh and frozen produce, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
13 

•S 786 IS

1 ‘‘(B) fresh and frozen meat and seafood, 

2 ‘‘(C) dairy products, and 

3 ‘‘(D) deli products, including sliced meats, 

4 cheeses, and salads. 

5 ‘‘(3) GROCERY STORE.—The term ‘grocery 

6 store’ means a retail store for which forecasted sales 

7 of groceries account for not less than 35 percent of 

8 its total annual sales. 

9 ‘‘(4) METROPOLITAN AREA.—The term ‘metro10 politan area’ has the same meaning given the term 

11 ‘metropolitan statistical area’ under section 

12 143(k)(2)(B). 

13 ‘‘(5) QUALIFIED CONSTRUCTION EXPENSES.— 

14 The term ‘qualified construction expenses’ means 

15 any costs incurred by the special access food pro16 vider before the date on which a permanent food 

17 bank is placed in service relating to the planning, 

18 design, and construction of such food bank. 

19 ‘‘(6) QUALIFIED GROCERY STORE.—The term 

20 ‘qualified grocery store’ means a grocery store 

21 which, on the date on which construction of such 

22 store begins, is located in a food desert. 

23 ‘‘(7) QUALIFIED RENOVATION AREA.—The term 

24 ‘qualified renovation area’ means any area of a gro25 cery store in which groceries are sold, provided that 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
14 

•S 786 IS

1 such grocery store, on the date on which renovation 

2 of such area begins, is located in a food desert. 

3 ‘‘(8) REGIONAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT EN4 TITY.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘regional 

6 community development entity’ means any do7 mestic corporation or partnership if— 

8 ‘‘(i) the primary mission of the entity 

9 is serving, or providing investment capital 

10 for, low-income communities or low-income 

11 persons, 

12 ‘‘(ii) the entity maintains account13 ability to residents of low-income commu14 nities through their representation on any 

15 governing board of the entity or on any ad16 visory board to the entity, and 

17 ‘‘(iii) the entity is certified by the Sec18 retary for purposes of this section as being 

19 a regional community development entity. 

20 ‘‘(B) LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—In the case of 

21 a grocery store for which there is no entity de22 scribed in subparagraph (A) within a 50-mile 

23 radius, the chief executive officer (or the equiv24 alent) of the local jurisdiction in which the gro25 cery store will be located may serve as the reVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:06 Mar 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
15 

•S 786 IS

1 gional community development entity for pur2 poses of subsection (c)(2). 

3 ‘‘(9) SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE.—The term 

4 ‘Secretary of Agriculture’ means the Secretary of 

5 Agriculture or the Secretary’s delegate. 

6 ‘‘(10) TEMPORARY ACCESS MERCHANT.—The 

7 term ‘temporary access merchant’ means a mobile 

8 market, a farmers market, or a temporary or mobile 

9 food bank (as such terms are defined by the Sec10 retary, in coordination with the Secretary of Agri11 culture)— 

12 ‘‘(A) which is operated by a special access 

13 food provider; and 

14 ‘‘(B) for which the primary purpose is food 

15 distribution within food deserts.’’. 

16 (b) CREDIT PART OF GENERAL BUSINESS CREDIT.— 

17 Section 38(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

18 amended by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (31), 

19 by striking the period at the end of paragraph (32) and 

20 inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and by adding at the end the following 

21 new paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(33) the special access food provider credit de23 termined under section 45T(a).’’. 

24 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

25 for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
16 

•S 786 IS

1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by add2 ing at the end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 45T. Special access food provider credit and grant program.’’. 

3 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

5 necessary to carry out the purposes of this section. 

6 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

7 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

9 SEC. 3. UPDATES TO FOOD ACCESS RESEARCH ATLAS. 

10 Section 243 of the Department of Agriculture Reor11 ganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6953) is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub13 section (e); and 

14 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(d) FOOD ACCESS RESEARCH ATLAS.—Not less fre17 quently than once each year, the Secretary shall update 

18 the Food Access Research Atlas of the Secretary to ac19 count for food retailers that are placed in service during 

20 that year.’’. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS