Provides that all persons have the right to grow, raise, harvest, produce and consume the food of their own choosing for their own nourishment, sustenance, bodily health and well-being, and the right to be free from hunger, malnutrition, starvation and the endangerment of life from the scarcity of or lack of access to nourishing food.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5426
SPONSOR: Raga TITLE OF BILL:
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing an amendment
to article 1 of the constitution, in relation to the right to food and
the right to be free from hunger, malnutrition, starvation and the
endangerment of life from the scarcity of or lack of access to food
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill creates a constitutional amendment to guarantee the right to
nutritious, sufficient and quality food for all New Yorkers.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Amends article I of the constitution by adding a new section
20.
Section 2. Sets the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Although food insecurity has long afflicted New York State, its effects
were exacerbated by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a 2023 NY
Health Foundation report identified, the outbreak of the pandemic
contributed to a substantial rise in unemployment among New Yorkers,
prompting a drastic decline in food accessibility. 'A year later, a
January 2024 study conducted by the New York State Department of Health
found that 24.9 percent of the state's residents currently face food
insecurity.
The rate of food insecurity also disproportionately affects communities
of color, leading to higher rates of stress, chronic diseases, and
health disparities.Despite the litany of state and local programs aiming
to address hunger, food insecurity has only continued to fester, espe-
cially in a post-pandemic world.
As it stands, the New York State Constitution offers its constituents no
explicit right to food. Instead, the state has long sponsored and
supported state and community-driven initiatives to provide alimentary
assistance on an ad hoc basis. Nevertheless, the absence of a constitu-
tionally enshrined right, at best, allows and, at worst, endorses the
continuation of food insecurity at the fringes of New York State socie-
ty.
Following the lead of Maine, the first state in the U.S. to constitu-
tionally secure this right for its constituents, this bill proposes that
New York State amend its own constitution to enshrine that right to food
for all New Yorkers.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New legislation.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Resolved (if the concur), that the foregoing amendments be referred to
the first regular legislative session convening after the next succeed-
ing 'general election of members of the assembly, and, in conformity
with section 1 of article 19 of the constitution, be published 3 months
previous to the time of such election.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5426
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 14, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. RAGA -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Operations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY
proposing an amendment to article 1 of the constitution, in relation to
the right to food and the right to be free from hunger, malnutrition,
starvation and the endangerment of life from the scarcity of or lack
of access to food
1 Section 1. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That article 1 of the
2 constitution be amended by adding a new section 20 to read as follows:
3 § 20. All individuals have a natural, inherent and unalienable right
4 to nutritious, sufficient, and quality food, including the right to save
5 and exchange seeds and the right to grow, raise, harvest, produce and
6 consume the food of their own choosing for their own nourishment, suste-
7 nance, bodily health and well-being, as long as an individual does not
8 commit trespassing, theft, poaching or other abuses of private property
9 rights, public lands or natural resources in the harvesting, production
10 or acquisition of food; furthermore, all individuals have a fundamental
11 right to be free from hunger, malnutrition, starvation and the endanger-
12 ment of life from the scarcity of or lack of access to nourishing food.
13 § 2. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That the foregoing amendments
14 be referred to the first regular legislative session convening after the
15 next succeeding general election of members of the assembly, and, in
16 conformity with section 1 of article 19 of the constitution, be
17 published 3 months previous to the time of such election.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD89063-01-5
