Proposed Bill to Tax Sugared Soft Drinks Fizzes Out

The Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation in Sacramento Monday failed to pass Assembly Bill 669 by Assemblyman Bill Monning (D-Carmel), which would have levied an excise tax of one penny per fluid ounce on sugary drinks, such as sodas, energy drinks, sweet teas and sports drinks.

The money would have  gone to a program that would sponsor childhood obesity prevention activities and programs.

“While I am disappointed that AB 669 did not pass out of the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee, I remain committed to continuing to pursue this issue and educating the public about the health dangers of sugary drinks—the biggest contributor to current obesity trends,” Monning said, in a press release.

“The long-term health of California’s children is at risk, and we must work together to avoid a future influx of chronically ill adults into our already overstressed health care system.”

Monning's pitch for the tax was supported by local health care workers. It was denounced by other committee members as taking away individual responsibility for what people want to drink. The California Nevada Sort Drinks Association said the product was unfairly singled out.

“California is trying to come to terms with a $41 billion obesity epidemic just as fiscally strapped state and municipal governments are being forced to cut many of the programs that address this crisis," said Dr. Harold Goldstein of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, in the Monning press release.

"For local communities and the state, AB 669 could be a lifeboat—a smart solution that safeguards vitally needed children’s obesity prevention programs and moves the money back into communities where it is most needed.”