Policy Pick: Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax

The bill, AB 669, was introduced last month by Assemblymember Bill Monning (D-Carmel) and will be heard by the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee on April 25.

If passed, the bill would levy a one cent per fluid ounce tax on any beverage that includes a caloric sweetener. The revenues raised would go to a new Children's Health and Promotion Fund, which would provide a dedicated funding source for obesity prevention activities. The tax would apply to sodas, sweet teas and energy and sports drinks.

If the current obesity trends are not reversed, one in three California children - and nearly half of Latino and African American children - born in the year 2000 will develop Type 2 diabetes in their lifetime, according to Monning, adding that obesity cost the state $21 billion in 2006. That same year, a study reported that 44 percent of preschool-age children consume sugar-sweetened fruit drinks and 39 percent drink soda on a given day.

"We cannot afford to sit back while the childhood obesity epidemic overwhelms our healthcare system and shortens our children's lives," Monning said. "The public health system is already paying the costs of bad health trends in our state due to increased consumption of sweetened beverages. A tax on sugary drinks will address these problems, and can be a valuable tool in a broader public health campaign."

According to the State Board of Equalization, the bill would raise $1.7 billion in 2013-2014 for the Children's Health Promotion Fund, which would invest in anti-obesity efforts at the state, local and school-based levels.These programs would go toward educational, environmental, policy and other public health approaches to promote nutrition and physical activity.

First 5 LA recently sent a letter to Monning expressing support. For a copy of the letter, click here.

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