BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 20
Author: Padilla (D)
Amended: 9/2/11
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 8-1, 5/4/11
AYES: Hernandez, Strickland, Alquist, Blakeslee, De León,
DeSaulnier, Rubio, Wolk
NOES: Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 34-2, 5/27/11
AYES: Alquist, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon, Cannella,
Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Dutton, Evans,
Gaines, Hancock, Harman, Hernandez, Huff, Kehoe, La
Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod,
Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio, Steinberg, Strickland,
Vargas, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NOES: Anderson, Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Emmerson, Fuller, Runner, Simitian
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 9/7/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Food facilities: menu labeling
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill repeals current law governing menu
labeling requirements for food facilities and, instead,
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conforms state law to federal law.
Assembly Amendments delete the version of the bill that
passed the Senate, which was drafted to conform state menu
labeling standards to federal labeling standards.
ANALYSIS :
Existing federal law:
1. Establishes the United States Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) to regulate food, cosmetics,
medicines, and medicine products; and ensures that such
products are labeled appropriately.
2. Establishes the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act,
which requires all packaged foods sold outside of
restaurants to include nutritional content information
on the packaging.
3. Requires restaurants to provide nutritional content
information on food items for which a nutrient or
health-related claim is made by the restaurant.
4. Establishes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act (PPACA) (Public Law 111-148) as amended by the
Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (H.R.
4872).
5. Requires restaurants or similar retail establishments
with 20 or more locations doing business under the same
name and offering for sale substantially the same menu
items, to disclose specified nutritional information of
the standard menu items, with exceptions.
6. Requires operators of 20 or more vending machines to
provide signs disclosing the number of calories for food
items in the machines when the Nutrition Facts Panel
cannot be viewed by the purchaser.
Existing state law:
1. Establishes the California Retail Food Code (CRFC),
which imposes various health and safety requirements on
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restaurants and makes violations of these requirements
subject to criminal penalties.
2. Establishes the authority of local environmental health
jurisdictions to adopt a food safety inspection program
with oversight by the Department of Public Health (DPH).
3. Requires every food facility in this state that operates
under common ownership or control, with at least 19
other food facilities with the same name, that sell
substantially the same menu items, or operates as a
franchised outlet of a parent company with at least 19
other franchises, with the same name, that sell
substantially the same menu items, to disclose to
consumers specified nutritional information for all
standard menu items by January 1, 2011.
4. Defines "food facility" as a food facility in California
that operates under common ownership or control with at
least 19 other food facilities with the same name that
sell substantially the same menu items, or operates as a
franchised outlet of a parent company with at least 19
other franchises with the same name that sell
substantially the same menu items.
5. Excludes certified farmers' markets, commissaries,
grocery stores, convenience stores, licensed health care
facilities, mobile support units, public and private
school cafeterias, restricted food service facilities,
retail stores in which a majority of sales are from a
pharmacy, and vending machines from the definition of
food facility.
This bill:
1. Deletes existing law governing menu labeling
requirements for food facilities.
2. Requires every food facility subject to federal law or
subject to state law as it read on July 1, 2011, to
comply with the requirements of federal law and all
subsequent regulations.
3. Clarifies that the Department of Public Health and local
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enforcement agencies are primarily responsible for
enforcing the provisions of this bill.
4. Makes a violation of this bill an infraction punishable
by a fine in an amount that varies based on the nature
of the violation and permits the enforcement agency to
assess a civil penalty, as specified, as an alternative
to assessing an infraction.
5. Prohibits a food facility from being found to have
committed a violation under this bill more than once
during an inspection visit.
6. Makes the provisions of this bill operative only on and
after the compliance date specified in federal law and
subsequent implementing regulations.
Background
SB 1420 (Padilla), Chapter 600, Statutes of 2008, requires
every food facility in the state that operates under common
ownership or control or operates as a franchised outlet of
a parent company, with at least 19 other food facilities or
franchises with the same name that sell substantially the
same menu items, to disclose to consumers specified
nutritional information for all standard menu items. The
bill excludes specified facilities, such as grocery stores,
convenience stores, public and private school cafeterias,
and vending machines from these requirements. It also
provides definitions for calorie content information,
drive-through, menu board, and others, for the purpose of
the bill, and describes nutritional information to include
total number of calories, grams of carbohydrates, grams of
saturated fat; and milligrams of sodium.
SB 1420 was passed into law prior to PPACA, and was
implemented January 1, 2011. One major difference between
PPACA and existing state menu labeling laws is that PPACA
requires operators of 20 or more vending machines to
provide signs disclosing the nutritional for food items in
the machines when the Nutrition Facts Panel cannot be
viewed by the purchaser, whereas state law excludes vending
machines from labeling requirements. Since the FDA has not
finished issuing their menu labeling regulations yet, it is
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unknown how closely California laws will match the final
federal regulations. At minimum, state laws on menu
labeling will be superseded by federal law. However,
establishments not covered under the new federal law or its
implementing regulations remain subject to existing state
and local laws.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, there
are no significant costs associated with this bill.
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/6/11)
California Center for Public Health Advocacy
California Optometric Association
California Restaurant Association
Consumer Federation of California
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author introduced this bill to
conform California's menu labeling standards to federal
menu labeling standards. The author states that a previous
bill that initiated menu labeling requirement in
California, SB 1420 (Padilla), Chapter 600, Statutes of
2008, was part of a comprehensive effort to combat the
growing obesity epidemic facing the state and advanced a
nationwide conversation regarding the benefits of menu
labeling. SB 1420 required restaurant chains with 20 or
more locations to provide nutritional information on their
menus and menu boards. In addition, SB 1420 required
restaurant chains with 20 or more locations in California
to make nutritional information, including sodium,
saturated fat, caloric and carbohydrate content available
to customers under specified circumstances.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 9/7/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Beth
Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman,
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Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill,
Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell,
Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan,
Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner,
Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Furutani, Gorell, Mansoor
CTW:mw 9/8/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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