BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SJR 28| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SJR 28 Author: Calderon (D) Amended: 6/24/08 Vote: 21 SENATE FLOOR : 28-7, 5/12/08 AYES: Alquist, Battin, Calderon, Cedillo, Cogdill, Corbett, Correa, Denham, Dutton, Florez, Harman, Kehoe, Kuehl, Lowenthal, Machado, Maldonado, Migden, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Perata, Ridley-Thomas, Romero, Scott, Simitian, Steinberg, Torlakson, Wiggins, Yee NOES: Aanestad, Ackerman, Ashburn, Cox, Hollingsworth, McClintock, Runner NO VOTE RECORDED: Ducheny, Margett, Oropeza, Vincent, Wyland ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 48-27, 7/14/08 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Nutrition: sodium consumption SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This resolution urges the federal Food and Drug Administration to respond to the issue of sodium consumption by reclassifying sodium as an additive and also urges the United States Department of Agriculture and the United State Department of Health and Human Services to respond to the issue of sodium consumption by setting new food guidelines addressing the amount of sodium in foods. CONTINUED SJR 28 Page 2 Assembly Amendments urge the Food and Drug Administration to reclassify sodium as an additive and urge the Department of Agriculture and Health and Human Services to set new guidelines regarding sodium. ANALYSIS : This resolution finds and declares: Scientific studies have linked consuming too much sodium to high blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. The National Academy of Sciences recommends that adults consume no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium each day, roughly the amount of a teaspoon of salt. However, for persons with a higher risk of having high blood pressured, including persons over 50 years of age and African Americans, the National Academy of Sciences recommends that no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium be consumed each day. Americans typically consume about 4,000 milligrams of sodium each day. The American Medical Association (AMA) cites estimates that 150,000 lives could be saved annually if Americans were to reduce their sodium consumption by 50 percent, which is a goal the AMA states can be attained within a decade. Other industrialized countries have already begun grappling with the problem of too much sodium consumption. For instance, according to the AMA, in Finland, government and industry have collaborated to bring about a 40 percent decrease in sodium consumption since the late 1970s. In the United Kingdom, government has set voluntary sodium reduction targets for about 70 types of processed foods. This resolution urges the federal Food and Drug Administration to respond to the issue of sodium consumption by reclassifying sodium as an additive and also urges the United States Department of Agriculture and the United State Department of Health and Human Services to respond to the issue of sodium consumption by setting new SJR 28 Page 3 food guidelines addressing the amount of sodium in foods. FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Aghazarian, Arambula, Beall, Berg, Brownley, Caballero, Carter, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeSaulnier, Dymally, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Garcia, Hancock, Hayashi, Hernandez, Huffman, Jones, Karnette, Krekorian, Laird, Levine, Lieber, Lieu, Ma, Mendoza, Mullin, Nava, Nunez, Parra, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Solorio, Spitzer, Swanson, Torrico, Wolk, Bass NOES: Adams, Anderson, Benoit, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Cook, DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Fuller, Gaines, Garrick, Horton, Houston, Huff, Jeffries, Keene, La Malfa, Maze, Nakanishi, Niello, Silva, Smyth, Strickland, Tran, Villines, Walters NO VOTE RECORDED: Charles Calderon, Leno, Plescia, Sharon Runner, Soto CTW:cm 8/1/08 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED **** END ****