A bill that would impose a tax on soda in California goes before lawmakers in Sacramento this week. Health care reporter Pauline Bartolone says a similar measure failed last session.
The state-wide law would tax sugary drinks such as sodas, energy drinks and sweet teas one cent per fluid ounce. Democratic Senator Bill Monning says something must be done to curb alarming rates of obesity and preventable diabetes.
“We are sentencing a generation of young people to adult lives requiring sophisticated medical management, reduced lifespan. So I think it’s important that we keep in focus here. It’s not just money, it’s not just economics of health care. It’s the quality of life of young people,” says Monning.
But Angie Pappos with the California Restaurant Association says the restaurant industry is facing a lot of other cost increases right now.
“It just doesn’t seem fair to pass on these costs to hardworking families that are already dealing with higher food costs, higher gas costs, and it just doesn’t seem like it’s going to be an effective solution,” says Pappos.
This bill’s first test will be this Wednesday.