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SAN FRANCISCO – State legislators on Thursday banned local taxes on groceries for 12 years in California, a major win for the soft drink industry, which used the system of state voting initiative to force lawmakers. signed by
Governor Jerry Brown
after he was rushed through the state legislature. Lawmakers said they had no choice but to pass the tax ban as they were facing the threat of a large voting operation backed by the ## 147 ## The soda industry would have made it more difficult to lift all local taxes. The voting measure, supported in part by the soda industry, withdrew the initiative from the November poll once the tax ban passed.
San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland have already introduced taxes on soft drinks. especially in low-income neighborhoods. The new law will not affect these measures, but blocks the soda tax proposals in four other California cities
"It's definitely one of the toughest votes I'm going to have take – another example of how system, "said the state.
Senator Ricardo Lara,
a Los Angeles-area democrat who voted reluctantly for the tax ban
The beverage industry fought the taxes on soft drinks, which were also adopted in Philadelphia and Seattle, with multi-million dollar campaigns. In California, the beverage industry has prevailed by utilizing the relatively new tactics of obtaining a state legislature to block local measures that tax soft drinks and other products. 39; deli. Similar pre-emption laws have been adopted in Arizona and Michigan. The business groups of Oregon and Washington State support the voting measures that would prevent local taxes on groceries in these states.
To prevail in California, where Democrats control the government, lawmakers said the beverage industry The measure, if approved by voters in November, would have required local tax increases to get the support from two-thirds of voters, instead of the simple majority required now, among other restrictions.
The beverage industry welcomed the ban on the tax on soft drinks as a benefit to consumers.
"Our goal is to help working families by preventing unfair increases in their grocery bills"
William M. Dermody Jr.
, a spokesman for the American Beverage Association, which represents dozens of beverage companies such as
Coca Cola
Co.
and
PepsiCo
Inc.
million. Dermody said the industry is committed to helping Californians reduce sugar consumption so it does not hurt jobs or small businesses that are so important to local communities.
Health groups and supporters of soft drink taxes react with anger "
" It's one of the worst laws I've seen in over 30 years past to fight for better health for children and families, "said
Nancy Brown,
the CEO of the American Heart Association
The International Union of Service Employees helped negotiate agreement with the group of companies that hides behind the voting action, called California Business Roundtable. The agreement was reached before the Thursday deadline for any voting action to be withdrawn prior to its official registration in November.
In a statement, the union said it was still determined to tax soft and sugary drinks. In a statement, Brown said that even though only four cities in California were considering a tax on soft drinks, the voting measure, which he called "an abomination," "would have affected all 482 cities of "The mayors of countless cities have called to express their concern and strongly support the compromise this bill represents," he said.
Write to Alejandro Lazo at [email protected]
