HB 56

Procurement - State Department of Education - Local Food Purchasing Program

Sponsor: Lorig Charkoudian (District 20)Committee: Health and Government OperationsSubject: State Government - ProcurementStatus: Vetoed by the Governor (Policy) (as of Dec 1, 2025)

What this bill does

Official synopsis

Requiring the State Department of Education, in coordination with the Department of General Services and the Department of Agriculture, to establish a program to procure, when funding is available, local food for local school systems with preference to providers that are certified local farms or certified Chesapeake invasive species providers; altering the percentage price preference adopted by the Board of Public Works for locally grown food from 5% to 10%; etc.

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Analysis reads the bill text, the fiscal note, and the witness list. It is generated by Claude and reviewed by nobody, so check the source documents before you rely on it.

Testimony (0)

MGA witness list

FAV 26FavorableFWA 2Favorable with amendmentsINFO 1Information only

Position	Witness	Organization	Testimony
FAV	Hale, Lauralobbyist	American Heart Association	Written (PDF)
FAV	Howard County, Staff	Board of Education of Howard County	Written (PDF)
FAV	Liu, Joseph	Capital Area Food Bank	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Brewster, Amanda Beth	Caroline County Public Schools	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Stegman, Matt	Chesapeake Bay Foundation	Written (PDF)
FAV	Stegman, Matt	Chesapeake Bay Foundation	Written (PDF)
FAV	Varanasi, Arti	Community Coalition for Lifelong Health & Wellness	Written (PDF)
FAV	Woolums, Johnlobbyist	DGS	Written (PDF)
FAV	Wilson, Emily	Department of Natural Resources	Written (PDF)
FAV	Peters, Lisa	Dorchester County Public Schools	Written (PDF)
FAV	McHenry, Steve	MARBIDCO (Maryland Ag/RBI Development Corp.)	Written (PDF)
FAV	McHenry, Steve	MARBIDCO (Maryland Ag/RBI Development Corp.)	Written (PDF)
FAV	Hough, Tylerlobbyist	Maryland Farm Bureau	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Hough, Tylerlobbyist	Maryland Farm Bureau	Written (PDF)
FAV	Gross, Julia	Maryland Hunger Solutions	Written (PDF)
FAV	Plante, Cecilia	Maryland Legislative Coalition	Position only
FAV	Houck, Madeline	Maryland State Department of Education	Written (PDF)
FAV	Cole, Mollilobbyist	Rural Maryland Council	Written (PDF)
FAV	Highsmith Vernick, Nikki	The Horizon Foundation	Written (PDF)
FAV	Highsmith Vernick, Nikki	The Horizon Foundation	Written (PDF)
FAV	Charkoudian, Lorig	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Charkoudian, Lorig	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Delegate Charkoudian, Delegate Charkoudianlegislator	Individual	Oral
FAV	Delegate Charkoudian, Delegate Charkoudianlegislator	Individual	Oral
FAV	Harris, Mrs.	Individual	Position only
FAV	Meyerovich, Mark	Individual	Position only
FWA	Woolums, Johnlobbyist	DGS	Oral + Written (PDF)
FWA	Chiejine, Nanya	The Montgomery County Food Council	Written (PDF)
INFO	Houck, Madeline	Maryland State Department of Education	Written (PDF)