California Assemblyman Proposes Soda Tax
March 17, 2016 Roots of ChangeBAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — In an attempt to combat high rates of obesity and diabetes in California, a lawmaker from Santa Monica announced Wednesday he is introducing bill that would tax sugary drinks.
It’s the seventh bill in the last six years designed to tax or add warning labels to sodas and other beverages with high sugar content. But, so far, none of them have become law.”Sugary beverages have no nutritional value,” said Assemblyman Richard Bloom, who is sponsoring the bill. If passed, it would impose a 2-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks.
“Liquid sugar, when it enters the body, goes straight to the pancreas and then it’s converted to fat,” he warned at a press conference in Sacramento.
Assemblymember Bloom, Assemblymember Richard Bloom, legislation, soda tax