Bill Text: CA AB766 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Unsealed beverage container portion cap.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)
Status: (Failed) 2020-02-03 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB766 Detail]
Download: California-2019-AB766-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Assembly
April 02, 2019 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION
| Assembly Bill | No. 766 |
| Introduced by Assembly Member Chiu (Coauthors: Assembly Members (Coauthors: Senators |
February 19, 2019 |
An act to add Article 4 (commencing with Section 104670) to Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 103 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to public health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 766, as amended, Chiu.
Unsealed beverage container portion cap.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health, which, among other things, administers various programs that prevent disease and promote health.
This bill would prohibit a retailer from selling, offering for sale, or otherwise providing to a consumer an unsealed beverage container, as defined, that is able to contain more than 16 fluid ounces. ounces, except for an unsealed beverage container designated for the consumption of water. The bill would define retailer to mean any person, firm, corporation, or business that sells, offers for sale, or otherwise provides a sugar-sweetened beverage to a consumer. This bill would make a violation of
this prohibition punishable as an infraction, or a civil penalty in an action brought by the Attorney General, or a district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney, of $200 for the first violation, $500 for the second violation, and $1,000 for each subsequent violation. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) There is overwhelming evidence of the link between obesity, diabetes, dental disease, and heart disease and the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, such as soft drinks, energy drinks, sweet teas, and sports drinks. Each year thousands of Californians require medical and dental treatment due to consumption of sweetened beverages.
(b) According to a 2016 report by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, over 2,500,000 California adults report having been diagnosed with diabetes, representing one out of every 12 adult
Californians. Combined with an estimated 13,000,000 California adults who have prediabetes or undiagnosed diabetes, these groups make up 55 percent of the state’s adult population. The vast majority of diabetes cases in California are type 2 diabetes, representing 1,900,000 adults.
(c) According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in California and has been determined to be the underlying cause of death for over 9,000 Californians each year.
(d) Adults with type 2 diabetes more often have other health problems. One-half of adults with type 2 diabetes also have hypertension. This rate of occurrence is twice as high as for those without diabetes. Adults with diabetes are significantly more likely to have
cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and kidney failure than adults without diabetes.
(e) Latinos, African Americans, Native Americans, and Asian-Pacific Islanders have higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes than non-Hispanic Whites. Seven percent of non-Hispanic Whites have type 2 diabetes, compared with 12 percent of Latino, 9 percent of Asian American, 14 percent of Asian-Pacific Islander, 13 percent of African Americans, and 17.5 percent of Native American populations in the United States. If trends are not reversed, it is predicted that one in three children and nearly one-half of Latino and African American children born in the year 2000 will develop type 2 diabetes in their lifetime.
(f) The prevalence of obesity in the United States has accelerated dramatically over the past
20 years. In California, 25 percent of adults in California were obese in 2016, which is an increase in obesity prevalence of nearly 40 percent since 2001. Although no group has escaped the epidemic, those who are low income and communities of color are disproportionately affected.
(g) The rate of children who are overweight has also increased dramatically in recent decades. In 2010, 38 percent of California children in grades 5, 7, and 9 were overweight or obese. Thirty-one of California’s 58 counties experienced an increase in childhood obesity from 2005 to 2010 2010, inclusive.
(h) California adults who drink a
soda or more per day are 27 percent more likely to be overweight or obese, regardless of income or ethnicity.
(i) According to nutritional experts, sugar-sweetened beverages, including soft drinks, energy drinks, sweet teas, and sports drinks, offer little or no nutritional value, but massive quantities of added sugars. A 20-ounce bottle of soda contains the equivalent of approximately 16 teaspoons of sugar. Yet, the American Heart Association recommends that Americans consume no more than
five to nine teaspoons of sugar per day.
(j) Research shows that almost one-half of the extra calories Americans consume in their diet is derived from sugar-sweetened beverages, with the average American drinking nearly 50 gallons of sugar-sweetened beverages a year, the equivalent of 39 pounds of extra sugar every year.
(k) The 2013–2014 California Health Interview Survey shows that 41 percent of California children from 2 to 11 years of age, inclusive, and 62 percent of California teens from 12 to 17 years of age, inclusive, drink soda daily, and for every additional serving of a sugar-sweetened beverage that a child consumes per day, the likelihood of the child becoming obese increases by 60 percent.
(l) Sugary drinks are a unique contributor to excess caloric consumption. A large body of research shows that calories from sugary drinks do not satisfy hunger the way calories from solid food or beverages containing fat or protein do, including those containing milk and plant-based proteins. As a result, sugary beverages tend to add to the calories people consume rather than replace them.
(m) Dental caries, also known as tooth decay, is the most common chronic childhood disease, experienced by more than two-thirds of California’s children. Left untreated, dental caries may cause chronic pain, infection, failure to thrive, delayed growth, school absenteeism, the inability to concentrate, and interference with intellectual tasks. Dental caries can become severe enough to require emergency room treatment and when left untreated can lead
to death.
(n) People are susceptible to dental caries throughout their lifetimes. Not only do adults experience dental caries, but a substantial proportion of the disease is untreated at any given time. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011–2012 results showed that approximately 91 percent of adults in the United States who were 20 to 64 years of age age, inclusive, in 2011 and 2012 had dental caries in their permanent teeth, and 27 percent of those adults had untreated tooth decay in their permanent teeth.
(o) Tooth loss is an important indicator of oral health and quality of life. It
affects one’s ability to chew, speak, socialize, and obtain employment.
(p) The prevalence of permanent tooth loss in 2012 ranged from 13 percent among individuals 18 to 24 years of age age, inclusive, to 68 percent among adults 65 years of age or older in California. African American adults in California have a higher prevalence of tooth loss due to decay or gum disease.
(q) Children and adults who frequently or excessively consume beverages high in sugar are at increased risk for dental caries. Sugar-sweetened beverages are dietary sources of sugar that are factors in dental caries development and tooth
loss.
(r) The acidity, carbonation, and sugars in soft drinks create a high risk of acid demineralization of dental enamel and makes consumption of these beverages one of the most significant contributors to tooth decay in children. Sugar-sweetened beverages, which have minimal nutritional value, are the primary source of added sugar in the daily diet of children.
(s) For every additional 25 grams of sugar consumed per person per day, the cost of dental treatment in the United States increases on average by $185 per person per year.
SEC. 2.
Article 4 (commencing with Section 104670) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 103 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:Article 4. Unsealed Beverage Container Portion Cap
104670.
For purposes of this article, all of the following definitions apply:(a) “Animal milk” means natural liquid milk that is secreted by an animal and consumed by humans, and includes, but is not limited to, natural milk concentrate and dehydrated natural milk, whether or not reconstituted.
(b) “Caloric sweetener” means any substance containing calories, suitable for human consumption, that humans perceive as sweet. “Caloric sweetener” includes, but is not limited to, sucrose, fructose, glucose, and other sugars and fruit juice concentrates.
(c) “Consumer”
means a person who purchases or receives a beverage for consumption and not for sale to another.
(d) “Milk substitute” means a plant-based beverage in which the principal ingredients by weight are (1) water and (2) grains, nuts, legumes, or seeds. “Milk substitute” includes, but is not limited to, almond milk, coconut milk, flax milk, hazelnut milk, oat milk, rice milk, and soy milk.
(e) “Natural fruit juice” means the original liquid resulting from the pressing of fruit, the liquid resulting from the reconstitution of natural fruit juice concentrate, or the liquid resulting from the restoration of water to dehydrated natural fruit juice.
(f) “Natural vegetable juice” means the original liquid resulting from the pressing
of vegetables, the liquid resulting from the reconstitution of natural vegetable juice concentrate, or the liquid resulting from the restoration of water to dehydrated natural vegetable juice.
(g) “Nonalcoholic beverage” means any beverage that contains less than one-half of 1 percent of alcohol per volume.
(h) “Retailer” means any person, firm, corporation, or business that sells, offers for sale, or otherwise provides a sugar-sweetened beverage to a consumer.
(i) “Sale” or “sell” means the transfer of title or possession for valuable consideration, regardless of the manner in which the transfer is completed.
(j) (1) “Sugar-sweetened beverage” means any sweetened, nonalcoholic beverage, carbonated or noncarbonated, intended for human consumption that has added caloric sweeteners and contains 75 calories or more per 12 fluid ounces.
(2) “Sugar-sweetened beverage” does not include any of the following:
(A) A beverage containing 100 percent natural fruit juice or natural vegetable juice with no added caloric sweeteners.
(B) A product manufactured for any of the following uses, and commonly referred to as a “dietary aid”:
(i) An oral nutritional therapy for persons who cannot absorb or
metabolize dietary nutrients from food or beverages.
(ii) A source of necessary nutrition used as a result of a medical condition.
(C) An oral electrolyte solution for infants and children formulated to prevent dehydration due to illness.
(D) A product for consumption by infants and that is commonly referred to as “infant formula.”
(E) A beverage whose principal ingredient by weight is animal milk or a milk substitute.
(k) “Unsealed beverage container” means a beverage container into which a beverage is dispensed or poured at the business premises where the beverage is purchased or received, including,
but not limited to, a container for fountain drinks.
104671.
(a) A retailer shall not sell, offer for sale, or otherwise provide to a consumer an unsealed beverage container that is able to contain more than 16 fluid(b) A violation of this section is punishable as an infraction in the amount of, or a civil penalty in an action brought by the Attorney General, or a district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney in the amount of, two hundred dollars ($200) for the first violation,
five hundred dollars ($500) for the second violation, and one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each subsequent violation.
