Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Lawmakers Say No to Soda Taxes. What Will Gov. Brown Do?
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 7 years ago on
June 28, 2018

Share

SACRAMENTO — Soda taxes may stop popping up in California and elsewhere, thanks to a new push by the beverage industry to fight such measures.
California lawmakers passed a bill to ban local taxes on soda for the next 12 years Thursday and sent it to Gov. Jerry Brown, who hasn’t explicitly said if he’ll sign it. It follows similar bans recently passed in Arizona and Michigan. The American Beverage Association, which represents Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and others, has backed the statewide bans after several cities passed taxes on sugary drinks in recent years.

The Legislature’s action drew a strong rebuke from public health advocates who view soda taxes as a crucial front in their efforts to contain diabetes, heart disease and obesity.
Voters in Oregon will decide on a similar statewide ban in November.
The California bill would not affect four local soda taxes that were passed in the state in recent years.

Soft-Drink Industry Flexes Its Muscle

It’s part of a last-minute deal to block a beverage industry-backed ballot measure that would make it much harder for cities and counties to raise taxes of any kind. The ABA said in a statement the legislation is about keeping groceries, including drinks, affordable.
Both legislative chambers approved the proposal despite deep reluctance among lawmakers.
“This industry is aiming a nuclear weapon at government in California and saying, ‘If you don’t do what we want we are going to pull the trigger and you are not going to be able to fund basic government services,'” said Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco, which has a soda tax.
The Legislature’s action drew a strong rebuke from public health advocates who view soda taxes as a crucial front in their efforts to contain diabetes, heart disease and obesity.
But local government officials, terrified by the prospect of having their hands tied on all future tax increases, reluctantly backed the legislation.

Avoiding a Political Catastrophe

“I’ve been in politics a long time, and sometimes you have to do what’s necessary to avoid catastrophe,” said Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, who is pushing a local sales tax increase that would be at risk if the ballot measure passed.
The California measure would ban any new taxes on groceries including beverages through 2030, but would allow four cities in the San Francisco Bay Area to keep soda levies already on the books.
The American Beverage Association has used aggressive campaigning to beat back soda tax and other measures intended to get people to cut back on sugary drinks. More recently, the industry group has come up against soda tax efforts with better funding. Former New York City Michael Bloomberg, who unsuccessfully tried to limit the size of sugary drinks sold in the city to 16 ounces, has funded some local efforts.
Philadelphia, Seattle and Boulder, Colorado also have taxes on sugary drinks.

Soda Industry Funds Ballot Initiative Raising the New-Tax Threshold

In California, the industry successfully funded a ballot measure that would raise the threshold for any tax increases by local government. Instead of the simple majority now required, tax hikes would need support from two-thirds of voters, a city council or a county board of supervisors. They’ve agreed to pull it from the ballot if the soda tax ban passes.
“We are tracking these discussions closely and remain committed to working on solutions to our high tax and high cost of living issues that impact our future job growth,” said Rob Lapsley, head of the California Business Roundtable and the formal sponsor of the initiative.
Nancy Brown, chief executive of the American Heart Association, asked for a meeting with Gov. Jerry Brown after The Sacramento Bee reported beverage industry lobbyists dined with Brown and his wife Anne Gust Brown at the governor’s mansion in Sacramento this month.
A spokesman for Brown, Evan Westrup, said the governor did not negotiate the deal and the dinner was unrelated. Brown hasn’t taken a position on the bill, Westrup said, but his finance department told lawmakers the administration supports the deal if it will halt the ballot measure.

Advocates Say Soda Taxes Promote Good Health

Public health officials said taxes are the most effective tool they have to discourage people from drinking soda, sports drinks, sweetened coffee and tea, and other sugary beverages.
Beverage companies spend billions promoting their products that public health professional can’t match, said Kristine Madsen, a physician and associate professor of public health at University of California, Berkeley.
She led a study that found a 20 percent reduction in consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in low-income neighborhoods in the year after the city’s tax took effect. Sales in grocery stores dropped 8 percent — a figure that was not fully offset by higher sales in neighboring towns.
___
The bill is AB1838 .

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Poland to Try Suspect in Alleged Russian Plot to Assassinate Zelenskiy

DON'T MISS

Trump to Make Golden Dome Announcement on Tuesday, US Official Says

DON'T MISS

Musk Says He Is Still Committed to Being Tesla CEO in 5 Years’ Time

DON'T MISS

Complaint Filed With Watchdog Group About Celedon. She Calls It ‘Bologna’

DON'T MISS

Supreme Court Allows Trump to Strip Legal Protections for Venezuelans Who Risk Deportation

DON'T MISS

49ers Sign All-Pro Linebacker Fred Warner to $63M Extension

DON'T MISS

Woman Charged With Arson After Grass Fire Threatens Buildings

DON'T MISS

The Tragedy of Joe Biden

DON'T MISS

Teen Girl Stabbed at Porterville’s Monache High School, Suspect in Custody

DON'T MISS

US Senate Democratic Leader Proposes Ban on Foreign Air Force One

UP NEXT

One Killed in ‘Intentional’ Explosion Outside Palm Springs Fertility Clinic, Police Say

UP NEXT

Despite Budget Woes, Gov. Newsom Wants More Tax Credits for Hollywood

UP NEXT

Meet The Hoo Lee Gans! Giants Fans Help Korean Star Jung Hoo Lee Feel At Home With Fan Group

UP NEXT

California Assembly Advances Bill to Toughen Penalties for Soliciting Sex From Older Teens

UP NEXT

California Man Wrestles Gun From Officer and Is Shot After Entering Police Car

UP NEXT

CA Gov. Gavin Newsom Tries to Rebrand Himself Ahead of Potential Presidential Run

UP NEXT

Is the Secret to CA Housing Affordability Buried in the Building Code?

UP NEXT

Bad News for California. State Budget Is $12 Billion in the Red

UP NEXT

California Democrats Restore Penalties in Teen Sex Trafficking Bill After Backlash

UP NEXT

Trump Tariffs, Rising Health Care Costs Knock CA Budget Back Into Deficit

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

Complaint Filed With Watchdog Group About Celedon. She Calls It ‘Bologna’

15 hours ago

Supreme Court Allows Trump to Strip Legal Protections for Venezuelans Who Risk Deportation

16 hours ago

49ers Sign All-Pro Linebacker Fred Warner to $63M Extension

17 hours ago

Woman Charged With Arson After Grass Fire Threatens Buildings

17 hours ago

The Tragedy of Joe Biden

18 hours ago

Teen Girl Stabbed at Porterville’s Monache High School, Suspect in Custody

18 hours ago

US Senate Democratic Leader Proposes Ban on Foreign Air Force One

19 hours ago

California Lets Students Wear Tribal Regalia at Graduations. Why It’s Still Controversial

19 hours ago

Trump Will Sign a Bill to Make Posting ‘Revenge Porn’ a Federal Crime

20 hours ago

Should CA’s Climate Budget Pay for High-Speed Rail, Firefighters?

20 hours ago

Poland to Try Suspect in Alleged Russian Plot to Assassinate Zelenskiy

WARSAW (Reuters) – Polish authorities have indicted a man charged with planning to help Russian foreign intelligence services prepare ...

6 minutes ago

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrives for the inaugural Mass of Pope Leo XIV in Saint Peter’s Square, Vatican City, May 18, 2025. REUTERS/REMO CASILLI/File Photo
6 minutes ago

Poland to Try Suspect in Alleged Russian Plot to Assassinate Zelenskiy

President Donald Trump signs an executive order related to drug prices, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
10 minutes ago

Trump to Make Golden Dome Announcement on Tuesday, US Official Says

19 minutes ago

Musk Says He Is Still Committed to Being Tesla CEO in 5 Years’ Time

15 hours ago

Complaint Filed With Watchdog Group About Celedon. She Calls It ‘Bologna’

16 hours ago

Supreme Court Allows Trump to Strip Legal Protections for Venezuelans Who Risk Deportation

17 hours ago

49ers Sign All-Pro Linebacker Fred Warner to $63M Extension

Diana Rivas, 35, has been arrested on arson charges after a vegetation fire burned several acres in Fresno on Sunday, prompting a large emergency response. (Fresno FD)
17 hours ago

Woman Charged With Arson After Grass Fire Threatens Buildings

18 hours ago

The Tragedy of Joe Biden

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend