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Read. Follow. Verify.Georgia House Bill 996 requires annual reporting on state food deserts
Last action · January 27, 2026: House Second ReadersSponsors: Bryce Berry and 4 others
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What This Bill Proposed
Georgia House Bill 996 requires the Department of Agriculture to publish an annual report identifying s, associated health issues, and reduction strategies starting October 31, 2026. The department must coordinate with the Division of Family and Children Services to produce the report.
Establishes a formal state monitoring requirement for low-income areas lacking fresh food access, utilizing federal data sources to fulfill annual legislative reporting mandates.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Department of Agriculture
Must coordinate and prepare the annual food desert report starting in October 2026.
Division of Family and Children Services
Must coordinate with the Department of Agriculture to prepare the annual report.
Key Facts
- Defines a food desert as an area with at least a 20 percent poverty rate where one-third of the population lives over a mile from a retail food store or farmers' market.
- Defines a retail food store as having at least $2 million in annual sales and major food departments.
- Requires the Department of Agriculture, in coordination with the Division of Family and Children Services, to submit an annual report starting October 31, 2026.
- The report must identify food desert locations, associated health issues, and recommendations for reducing them.
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- Allows the department to use federal data to satisfy reporting requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
What qualifies as a food desert under this bill?
When is the first report due?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · introduced in the House.
Procedural history
3 actions- Jan 27, 2026HouseHouse Second Readers
- Jan 16, 2026HouseIntroducedHouse First Readers
- Jan 15, 2026HouseIntroducedHouse Hopper
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.ga.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 40)
- Controversy10Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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