Proposed California Bill Would Remove Soda From Kids’ Menus

The latest restrictive measure on restaurants being considered by California lawmakers is a bill that will fine establishments that don’t remove soda and juice from kids menus.

Senate Bill 1192 would levy penalties on restaurants that don’t remove sugary drinks from kids menus: a written notice for a first offense, $250 for a second offense, and $500 for each additional violation.

The bill cleared the state assembly on Aug. 16 and now heads back to the Senate, which previously supported the measure.

It cites an increased obesity rate among children, noting that obese children are more likely to become obese adults compared with nonobese children.

While restaurants would be banned from advertising sugary drinks on kids menus, parents could request such drinks for their children and restaurants could lawfully serve them the drinks under the bill.

The bill is led by State Senator Bill Monning. He told the Monterey County Weekly that he carried sugar packets to show children he speaks to how much sugar is in each soda, and referred to the distributors of soda as “poison distributors.”

Baltimore, Maryland is the latest place to put such a law into effect. The ordinance started there in mid-July, and officials noted that seven cities in California and Lafayette, Colorado previously enacted similar ordinances.

First Straws, Now Drinks

The proposed bill by the California State Senate comes just weeks after multiple California cities either banned restaurants from serving plastic straws or advanced legislation that would so so.

Officials in Santa Barbara authorized $1,000 fines and even jail time for violators of a proposed ban, while the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the ban in late July and the Santa Monica City Council approved a ban on plastic straws and others plastic items in mid-August.

The plastic straw bans have faced significant opposition, primarily from business owners and groups that fight for the rights of disabled people.

Some people are also speaking out about the proposal to ban sugary drinks from kids menus, with parents telling KSBY that it should be up to them, not lawmakers, to make choices of that nature for their children.

“That’s unacceptable,” Malody Cervantes said. “That’s not their place to govern what the parents can legally give to their children.”

“I think it really depends on the parent and what they choose to offer and not offer their kids, it’s a little bit of an overreach to decide that for them,” added Joanel Bernardo, who said she typically doesn’t allow her children to consume sugary drinks but will on occasion.

Other people are advocating for the proposed measure, including Stephanie Winn with the American Cancer Society.

“Cancer is fought in the halls of government, not just in the halls of the hospital,” she told CBS. “Some of these kids are drinking up to three sodas a day. This is setting them up for tremendous cancer risks down the road. Because now we know that 20 percent of all cancers are tied to being overweight.”

From NTD.tv