It’s Time to Give Local Governments Back their Ability to Protect Public Health and Generate Revenue to Close Budget Gaps Caused by COVID-19
By Lawrence Jackson
Lawrence Jackson (Courtesy Photo)
Money for fresh fruit and vegetables for low-income families. Meals for homebound seniors. Gardening and cooking programs for students and their families. These are some of the programs that were being funded by sugary drink taxes enacted in local communities before Big Soda lobbyists forced California to enact a 12-year statewide ban on these taxes through a 2018 “stinky backroom deal” described by the LA Times as “extortion”.
Last month, California Assembly Member Adrin Nazarian (Van Nuys) had the courage to stand up to Big Soda by introducing a bill (AB 1163) that would undo the “backroom deal” and once again allow local communities to blunt the damage inflicted on their communities from sugary drinks. Nazarian’s simple solution would help local communities suff