You may have heard a familiar voice on NPR yesterday—perhaps while sipping a Fanta on your afternoon commute.
State Sen. Bill Monning, D-Carmel, spoke with National Public Radio about his freshly-failed bill to slap a warning label on sugary drinks such as soda, energy drinks and fruit juices.
The label, to be placed on all drinks with 75 or more calories per 12 ounces, would have read: "STATE OF CALIFORNIA SAFETY WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay."
On Tuesday, SB 1000 fell short of the support it needed to pass out of the Assembly Committee on Health.
Sounds like Monning's not giving up yet. “While I am disappointed SB 1000 did not pass out of committee, I remain committed to pursuing this issue and being part of a broad public health campaign to educate communities about the proven health risks of sugary drinks,” he stated in a press release.
If that sounds familiar, that's because Bill's anti-sugary-drink battle is as tenacious as a cavity.
In 2011 and again in 2013, first as assemblyman and then as senator, he floated related legislation to tax sugar-added beverages. Both times, it died before reaching a floor vote.
[CORRECTION 6/30: This blog post originally had an inaccurate headline describing Monning's bill as a "ban on sugary drinks."]
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