March 19 Support Letter for AB 1734 (Stefani) Count Hunger Act

March 19^th, 2026

Assemblymember Stefani

1021 O Street, Suite 5220

Sacramento, CA 95814

RE: AB 1734: Count Hunger Act – support 

Dear Assemblymember Stefani,

On behalf of the Marin County Board of Supervisors, I write in support of your authored bill, AB 1734, which would restore funding for the food security section of the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), administered by UCLA, and expand the sample to include households up to 400% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). Timely funding and this survey expansion are critical to accurately measure food insecurity and help fill the gap left by the federal government’s cancellation of both the national food security survey and funding for the CHIS food screener portion of the survey.

Recent federal actions, such as the passing of H.R.1, have had significant negative consequences for important tools used to help measure and combat food insecurity. This includes the cancellation of the annual Current Population Survey – Food Security Supplement (CPS-FSS) by the federal administration which provided crucial insight on food insecurity for the nation and individual states, as well as a state funding cut to the CHIS food insecurity screener due to the loss of SNAP Ed funding. This means that two key sources of data on food security in California have been cut, including the CHIS that enabled analysis of the relationships between food security and health or social conditions, as well as comparisons of counties and regions within the state.

We support AB 1734, the Count Hunger Act, which would restore funding for the food security section of the California Health Interview Survey. It would allow Marin County to best understand and support residents facing food insecurity in the face of federal actions threatening our community.

We thank you for your leadership on this critical issue for our community, especially during these times of great need for support.

Sincerely,

Eric Lucan, President

Marin County Board of Supervisors

CC:       Marin County Board of Supervisors

            Assemblymember Damon Connolly

            Senator Mike McGuire