California Assembly Committee Nixes Another Proposed Tax On Soda

SACRAMENTO , CA -- California's Assembly Health Committee has rejected the latest bill to discourage the consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks and raise money for health education programs.

The legislation (AB 1357) sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) would have imposed a 2¢-per-fl.oz. tax on sugary beverages. It was estimated that such a tax would have raised at least $3.5 billion a year for health education and dental programs.

Had the bill advanced to the Assembly floor, it would have required a two-thirds vote to pass.

A number of soda tax bills have been introduced in California, but none has reached the floor of either legislative house.

At the local level, Berkeley made history last November as the first city in the nation to pass a soda tax. Similar legislation was shot down in San Francisco, Richmond and El Monte.