Filed under: food, food policy, food taxes, soda tax | Tags: americans against food taxes, HB 2643, soda tax, sweetened beverage tax
Last week I wrote about Americans Against Food Taxes Super Bowl commercial aimed at bills across state legislatures looking to impose higher taxes on sweetened beverages like soda and sports juice—including Arizona’s HB 2643.
After scheduling, and reconfirming multiple times, my interview with Rep. Heinz (D-Tucson), who introduced the bill, the interview fell through because, according to his office, the bill was unlikely to move any further.
After the bill’s second reading on Feb. 10, it is highly unlikely the bill will be brought to the house floor, Ross Andrews, a member of Heinz’s staff, said.
And while the bill did have some bi-partisan support, listing Russell Jones (R-Yuma) as a co-sponsor to the bill, I personally didn’t see much chance of the bill’s passage in the Republican dominated legislature anyway, especially with the current intense scrutiny given toward “big government’” involvement in our health care system. And even if it did pass the legislature, and that’s a big if, it is unclear whether Gov. Jan Brewer would sign the bill into law.
I did still ask for Rep. Heinz’s input on the bill, even though it was unlikely to pass, and his staff said they would try to make arrangements for a subsequent interview. Let’s just say, I’m not holding my breath.
But while Arizona’s hopes for a soda-tax have been dashed, at least for this year, soda-tax proponents in California introduced a very similar bill, AB 669, into the state’s legislature on Thursday.
The money collected from the one-cent per ounce tax, estimated to generate $1.7 million, would be allocated to the Children’s Health Promotion Fund, which helps promote health and nutrition in schools.
“This is not a new idea,” said Assemblyman Bill Monning, who introduced the legislation, in an interview with California Capitol Network. “This legislation has been pursued successfully in other states. It is responding to a public health crisis. Really a public health epidemic.”
Sure, the legislation is certainly not a new idea and has had some success, but soda-tax bills have also met strong resistance in multiple states we could take Arizona as an example. And as of late last week, it looked like California’s proposal was not to be left out.
The American Beverage Association quickly issued a press release on Friday calling the proposed taxes “discriminatory” and “regressive.”
“The idea that a tax would work to solve a very complex issue like obesity is simply unreasonable and just won’t work,” according to the press release. “Reducing obesity requires a comprehensive approach – one that involves all members of our communities and educates people about the importance of balancing calories – not sound bite solutions.”
It will certainly be interesting to see the outcome of such legislation in an arguably more progressive state. I suggest Arizona’s soda-tax proponents take note and pay very close attention to the debate surrounding California’s legislation as its sure to be one of the biggest showdowns between the American Beverage Association and state governments.
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