SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco officials again are
trying to improve residents’ health and raise money for government
coffers by taxing soda and other sweetened drinks, an effort that’s
previously failed to gain traction locally and in other U.S. cities.
Four
city lawmakers announced Saturday that they are introducing legislation
that would impose a 2 cent-per-ounce tax on soft drinks, sports drinks
and energy drinks. If passed by the full 11-member Board of Supervisors,
the measure would go before local voters for approval or rejection in
November.
The tax would be levied on beverage distributors and
retailers who obtain their products directly from manufacturers.
Officials estimate it could generate as much as $31 million a year.
Under
the proposal set to be introduced Tuesday, the money would have to be
used to fund recreation and nutrition programs in schools and at
recreation centers, public bottle-filling and drinking fountains,
healthy food services and dental health initiatives.
"We are
experiencing an epidemic of health problems caused by sodas and other
sugary beverages — including diabetes and obesity afflicting adults,
teenagers, and even young children — and we have a responsibility to act
to confront this escalating public health challenge," Supervisor Scott
Wiener, one of the measure’s backers, said. "Just as taxes drove down
tobacco use, a small tax on sodas and other sugary beverages will reduce
consumption and expand access to active recreation and nutrition
education for children and adults."
Other cities already have
tried creating taxes or other disincentives in an attempt to reduce soda
consumption and rates of diabetes and obesity. Former New York Mayor
Michael Bloomberg was lauded, then lampooned when he failed to persuade
the state Legislature to enact a penny-per-ounce soda tax and tried
banning the sale of soda containers larger than 16 ounces, a move
quashed by a state appeals court.
San Francisco also has visited
the issue before. Former Mayor Gavin Newsom floated the idea in 2009 of
charging large retailers a fee on the sugary drinks they sold. He
abandoned the plan a year later, citing opposition from the business
community. In 2012, voters in two other California communities, Richmond
and El Monte, rejected a penny-per-ounce tax on businesses that sold
sugary drinks.
Supporters of the city’s latest effort predicted
Saturday that the beverage industry would spend big to defeat the 2-cent
tax in the likely event that it is put before voters.
"They may
have a lot of money, and they’re already out there with their fake
Astroturf campaign," Wiener told the San Francisco Chronicle, referring
to the antithesis of a grassroots effort. "We have actual facts and
science on our side."
A new anti-tax campaign advocacy group
funded by the American Beverage Association, called Coalition for an
Affordable City, already has a website urging San Francisco residents to
lobby against the proposal.
"This is not just a tax on soda. This
is a tax on juice drinks, ice teas, powdered drinks, sports drinks, and
hundreds of other beverages," the site states. "The last thing we need
is a tax that makes it even more expensive to live and work in San
Francisco."
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