[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2936 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2936

  To establish as a permanent program the organic market development 
            grant program of the Department of Agriculture.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

           September 27 (legislative day, September 22), 2023

  Ms. Baldwin (for herself, Mr. King, Mrs. Gillibrand, and Mr. Welch) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
           Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish as a permanent program the organic market development 
            grant program of the Department of Agriculture.

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

SECTION 1. ORGANIC MARKET DEVELOPMENT GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Certified organic product.--The term ``certified 
        organic product'' means an agricultural product (as defined in 
        section 2103 of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 
        U.S.C. 6502)) that is organically produced (as defined in that 
        section).
            (2) Eligible entity.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``eligible entity'' means 
                an entity described in subparagraph (B) that--
                            (i) is owned and operated within--
                                    (I) a State;
                                    (II) the District of Columbia;
                                    (III) the Commonwealth of Puerto 
                                Rico;
                                    (IV) the United States Virgin 
                                Islands;
                                    (V) Guam;
                                    (VI) American Samoa;
                                    (VII) the Commonwealth of the 
                                Northern Mariana Islands; or
                                    (VIII) the jurisdiction of a Tribal 
                                government; and
                            (ii)(I) is certified in accordance with 
                        subpart E of part 205 of title 7, Code of 
                        Federal Regulations (or successor regulations); 
                        or
                            (II) is in transition to certification.
                    (B) Entities described.--An entity referred to in 
                subparagraph (A) is--
                            (i) a producer, producer cooperative, or 
                        other commercial entity that produces or 
                        handles certified organic products;
                            (ii) a nonprofit corporation;
                            (iii) a trade association;
                            (iv) a public benefit corporation;
                            (v) a philanthropic organization;
                            (vi) a unit of Tribal, State, territorial, 
                        or local government; or
                            (vii) such other entity as the Secretary 
                        may designate.
                    (C) Exclusion.--The term ``eligible entity'' does 
                not include an entity described in subparagraph (B) the 
                operations of which are suspended or revoked under 
                section 205.662 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations 
                (or a successor regulation).
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.
            (4) Transition to certification.--The term ``transition to 
        certification'', with respect to an eligible entity, means the 
        period of time during which the crops or livestock of the 
        eligible entity, as applicable, are managed in accordance with 
        the requirements of the National Organic Program before being 
        granted organic certification, which may include--
                    (A) the management of cropland organically for not 
                less than 3 years;
                    (B) the management of slaughter of livestock 
                organically from the last third of gestation;
                    (C) the management of dairy animals organically for 
                not less than 1 year;
                    (D) the management of poultry organically from the 
                second day of life; and
                    (E) such other conditions as the Secretary may 
                require.
    (b) Establishment and Purpose.--The Secretary, acting through the 
Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service, shall establish a 
program, to be known as the ``Organic Market Development Grant 
Program'', that--
            (1) increases the capacity of the domestic organic product 
        supply chain for producers, handlers, suppliers, and processors 
        of certified organic products;
            (2) modernizes manufacturing, tracking, storage, and 
        information technology systems specific to the purposes 
        described in this subsection, such as process control or 
        organic product ingredient tracking systems;
            (3) improves the capacity of eligible entities to comply 
        with applicable regulatory requirements or quality standards 
        required to access markets, such as requirements and standards 
        relating to food safety and organic product certification;
            (4) expands capacity for storage, processing, aggregation, 
        and distribution of certified organic products to create more 
        and better markets for producers of certified organic products;
            (5) facilitates market development for domestically 
        produced certified organic products;
            (6) provides for the conduct of feasibility studies and 
        market viability assessments to inform organic transition 
        strategies and opportunities;
            (7) ameliorates barriers to entry to organic product 
        certification for historically underserved entities;
            (8) supports market and promotional activities that help 
        build commercial markets for certified organic products in the 
        United States; and
            (9) provides technical assistance and outreach to program 
        stakeholders and participants.
    (c) Grants.--For each fiscal year for which amounts are made 
available to carry out this section under subsection (k), the Secretary 
shall provide grants to support eligible entities in conducting 
activities in accordance with the purposes of the program described in 
subsection (b).
    (d) Applications.--
            (1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary 
        an application at such time, in such manner, and containing 
        such information as the Secretary may require.
            (2) Simplified process.--The Secretary shall implement a 
        simplified application and award process under this section for 
        use by any eligible entity seeking to carry out an equipment-
        only project.
            (3) Benefits.--
                    (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph 
                (B), an application submitted under this subsection 
                shall include a description of the direct or indirect 
                producer or food business benefits intended by the 
                eligible entity to result from the proposed project 
                within a reasonable period of time after the receipt of 
                a grant under this section.
                    (B) Exception.--Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to 
                any feasibility study or market viability assessment 
                conducted pursuant to this section.
            (4) Criteria.--The Secretary shall establish such criteria 
        for the evaluation and funding of proposed projects under this 
        section as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
            (5) Competitive process.--The Secretary--
                    (A) shall conduct a competitive process to select 
                applications submitted under this subsection;
                    (B) may assess and rank applications with similar 
                purposes as a group; and
                    (C) before accepting any application under this 
                subsection, shall publish the criteria to be used in 
                evaluating the applications.
    (e) Project Types.--An eligible entity may use amounts received 
under this section to carry out, in accordance with such goals and 
deadlines for completion as the Secretary may establish, the following 
types of projects:
            (1) Market development and promotion of certified organic 
        products.
            (2) Certified organic product storage (including cold 
        storage), aggregation, processing, and distribution capacity 
        expansion.
            (3) Equipment-only.
    (f) Term.--Unless otherwise determined by the Secretary, a grant 
provided under this section shall have a term of not longer than 3 
years.
    (g) Maximum Amount.--
            (1) In general.--The amount of a grant provided under this 
        section for a project described in paragraph (1) or (2) of 
        subsection (e) shall be not more than $3,000,000.
            (2) Simplified equipment-only projects.--The amount of a 
        grant provided under this section for a project described in 
        subsection (e)(3) shall be not more than $100,000.
    (h) Matching Funds.--
            (1) In general.--An eligible entity that receives a grant 
        under this section to carry out a project described in 
        paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (e) shall provide a non-
        Federal share equal to not less than 50 percent of the cost of 
        the project.
            (2) Simplified equipment-only projects.--An eligible entity 
        that receives a grant under this section to carry out a project 
        described in subsection (e)(3) shall not be required to 
        contribute a non-Federal share to the cost of the project.
    (i) Inapplicability of Prior Limitations.--
            (1) Quantity.--The Secretary may provide a grant under this 
        section to more than 1 eligible entity, as the Secretary 
        determines to be appropriate.
            (2) Construction and structural changes.--A grant provided 
        under this section may be used by an eligible entity for--
                    (A) new construction; or
                    (B) any structural modification to an existing 
                building or facility resulting in--
                            (i) an expansion in the square footage of 
                        the building or facility; or
                            (ii) a change to the floor, the foundation, 
                        or an exterior or load-bearing wall of the 
                        building or facility.
    (j) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary may provide to eligible 
entities technical assistance under this section, directly or through a 
cooperative agreement.
    (k) Funding.--
            (1) Mandatory funding.--Of the funds of the Commodity 
        Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use to carry out this 
        section $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year 
        thereafter, to remain available until expended.
            (2) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for 
        fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter, to remain 
        available until expended.
                                 <all>