An act to add Chapter 26 (commencing with Section 28050) to Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to nutrition.
AB 1734, the Count Hunger Act, would create a two-year pilot program within the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) focused on food insecurity. The State Department of Public Health, working with UCLA, would ensure that the food insecurity question set used in the 2025 CHIS is funded and included for the pilot period. The bill defines CHIS as UCLA’s statewide health survey and specifies that the food insecurity portion would apply to households at or below 400% of the federal poverty level.
The bill also requires UCLA, in collaboration with the department, to publish any available statewide, regional, and county-level data tied to the food insecurity questions, as feasible, and to post the information on the AskCHIS public reporting tool. Any published data must exclude personally identifiable information. The pilot is scheduled for the 2027 and 2028 calendar years, or the next two calendar years after funding becomes available, whichever comes first.
AB 1734 would add a new chapter to the Health and Safety Code and expand the statutory framework governing CHIS and food insecurity data collection. Its implementation is contingent on a legislative appropriation and a resolution by the University of California Regents making the provision applicable to UCLA. The bill also states legislative intent that funding may come from grants or other local, private, or philanthropic contributions.
The overall sentiment appears supportive. The bill passed committee with strong margins, including a unanimous 16-0 vote in one committee and a 7-1 vote in another, and was advanced to Appropriations. That voting pattern suggests broad agreement on the value of better food insecurity data and public reporting.
The main point of contention appears to be fiscal and implementation-related rather than policy-based. Because the pilot depends on an appropriation and UC Regents approval, questions likely center on funding sources, administrative feasibility, and whether the survey expansion is worth the cost. The bill’s focus on households up to 400% of poverty level may also be notable because it reaches beyond the lowest-income households, but the record provided does not show significant opposition on that point.
AB 1734 would add Chapter 26 to Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, creating a new statutory pilot program for the California Health Interview Survey. It would direct the State Department of Public Health and UCLA to collect, fund, and publish food insecurity data for a limited two-year period, with public reporting through AskCHIS and confidentiality protections for personally identifiable information. The bill would not take effect unless the Legislature appropriates funding and the UC Regents approve its application to UCLA, and it is framed as potentially being supported by grants or philanthropic contributions.
The bill’s committee history indicates generally favorable sentiment. It received unanimous support in one committee and near-unanimous support in another, then moved forward to Appropriations. The discussion record provided does not include transcript debate, but the vote pattern suggests the measure is viewed as a practical data-gathering effort to better understand food insecurity in California rather than a controversial policy change.
The primary areas of potential contention are funding and implementation. Because the pilot is contingent on an appropriation and UC Regents action, legislators may be concerned about whether there is a reliable funding source, whether private or philanthropic contributions are appropriate substitutes for state funding, and whether UCLA can implement the expanded survey questions on the proposed timeline. There is also an implicit policy question about the scope of the survey, since the food insecurity questions would apply to households up to 400% of the federal poverty level, but no strong opposition is reflected in the available voting history.