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| 1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Farmers' markets provide not only a valuable | ||||||
| 3 | marketplace for farmers to sell their products directly to | ||||||
| 4 | consumers, but also a place for consumers to access fresh | ||||||
| 5 | fruits, vegetables, and other agricultural products; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, These markets successfully operate across | ||||||
| 7 | Illinois; however, there is a lack of comprehensive regulation | ||||||
| 8 | from one county to the next, resulting in discrepancies between | ||||||
| 9 | counties regarding the products that may be sold; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, In 1999, the Department of Public Health published | ||||||
| 11 | "Technical Information Bulletin/Food #30," in order to outline | ||||||
| 12 | the sanitation guidelines required for farmers' markets, | ||||||
| 13 | producer markets, and other outdoor food sales events; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, This bulletin has not been uniformly interpreted | ||||||
| 15 | across the State; therefore, be it
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| 16 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 17 | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
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| 18 | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Task Force | ||||||
| 19 | on Farmers' Markets, consisting of 14 members appointed as | ||||||
| 20 | follows: the President of the Senate, the Minority Leader of | ||||||
| 21 | the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and | ||||||
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| 1 | the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives shall each | ||||||
| 2 | appoint one member; the Director of Public Health or his or her | ||||||
| 3 | designee, the Director of Agriculture or his or her designee, a | ||||||
| 4 | representative of a general agricultural production | ||||||
| 5 | association appointed by the
Department of Agriculture, 3 | ||||||
| 6 | representatives of local county public health departments | ||||||
| 7 | appointed by the Director of Public Health and selected from 3 | ||||||
| 8 | different counties representing each of the northern, central, | ||||||
| 9 | and southern portions of Illinois, and 4 members of the general | ||||||
| 10 | public who are engaged in local farmers' markets appointed by | ||||||
| 11 | the Director of Agriculture; and be it further
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| 12 | RESOLVED, That the Director of Public Health shall serve as | ||||||
| 13 | the chair; the Task Force shall meet at the call of the Chair; | ||||||
| 14 | and the members of the Task Force shall serve without | ||||||
| 15 | compensation; and be it further
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| 16 | RESOLVED, That the Task Force can appoint members as it | ||||||
| 17 | sees fit to serve as representatives of local farmers' markets | ||||||
| 18 | or other concerned parties; and be it further
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| 19 | RESOLVED, That the duty of the Task Force is to undertake a | ||||||
| 20 | comprehensive and thorough review of the current | ||||||
| 21 | implementation of the various Acts that define which products | ||||||
| 22 | and practices are permitted and which products and practices | ||||||
| 23 | are not permitted at farmers' markets and other outdoor food | ||||||
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| 1 | sale events; and be it further
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| 2 | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall assist the Department | ||||||
| 3 | of Public Health in developing interagency agreements and | ||||||
| 4 | programs and procedures regarding the implementation of the | ||||||
| 5 | various Acts that define which products and practices are | ||||||
| 6 | permitted and which products and practices are not permitted at | ||||||
| 7 | farmers' markets and other outdoor food sale events; and be it | ||||||
| 8 | further
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| 9 | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Public Health | ||||||
| 10 | shall provide staffing support to the Task Force and shall | ||||||
| 11 | administer and prepare all reports deemed necessary in | ||||||
| 12 | conjunction with the Task Force; and be it further
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| 13 | RESOLVED, That the Task Force may request assistance from | ||||||
| 14 | any entity necessary or useful for the performance of its | ||||||
| 15 | duties; and be it further
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| 16 | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall issue a report with its | ||||||
| 17 | recommendations to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of | ||||||
| 18 | the House on or before December 31, 2012.
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