BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2084
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2084 (Brownley)
As Amended May 6, 2010
Majority vote
HUMAN SERVICES 4-2 APPROPRIATIONS 11-5
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|Ayes:|Beall, Ammiano, Hall, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Hill, Bradford, |
| |Swanson | |Charles Calderon, Coto, |
| | | |Davis, Hall, Skinner, |
| | | |Solorio, Torlakson, |
| | | |Torrico |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Tom Berryhill, Logue |Nays:|Conway, Harkey, Miller, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby |
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SUMMARY : Creates minimum standards for beverages that are
served in licensed child day care facilities. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Requires licensed child day care facilities to:
a) Serve only 1% milk to children ages two or older;
b) Limit juice to not more than one serving per day of 100%
juice;
c) Serve no beverages with added sweeteners, either natural
or artificial; and,
d) Make clean and safe dinking water readily available and
accessible for consumption throughout the day, particularly
with meals and snacks.
2)Creates exceptions to the requirements above for children with
"medical needs," as defined, and for parents who provide
beverages for their children to the child care facility.
3)Makes findings and declarations regarding what research has
shown about the connection between unhealthy food preferences
and childhood obesity.
AB 2084
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FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)One-time General Fund (GF) costs, likely less than $75,000,
for the Department of Social Services (DSS) to update
licensing forms and materials to include new nutrition
requirements.
2)On-going annual workload costs of approximately $100,000 GF
for increased workload associated with DSS including the
requirements of this bill in their annual inspections.
COMMENTS : This bill addresses nutritional standards in licensed
child care settings in an effort to fight childhood obesity.
Under the state Child Day Care Facilities Act, child day care
centers are required to provide safe and healthy environments
for children. Generally, these facilities must comply with
state mandated licensure requirements in the following areas:
Fire clearance, capacity determination, teacher to child ratio,
indoor/outdoor space requirements, staffing for water
activities, administrator qualifications, director
qualifications, teacher and teacher aide qualifications, and
food service. According to the author, there are 15,140
licensed center-based sites and 42,907 family home sites in
California, with capacity for 1.2 million children from birth to
12 years of age.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
approximately one of every four children between the ages of two
to five has a high body mass index, putting these children at
risk of obesity, which can lead to type-two diabetes,
hypertension, sleep apnea, and other adverse health conditions.
Childhood obesity can lead to obese adults with chronic health
conditions resulting in increased health costs.
Good nutrition, physical activity and limiting media exposures
(e.g., TV time) help to prevent childhood obesity. With over
four million children between birth and 12 years of age in
California having one or two working parents who rely on child
care services, child care settings, including center and
home-based care, play an important role in influencing good
eating habits and teaching the importance of physical
AB 2084
Page 3
activities.
In August 2007, the California Department of Education (CDE) and
the Health and Human Services Agency convened a stakeholder
group to come up with key recommendations for reducing childhood
overweight/obesity in child care settings. This group came up
with a number of recommendations, including adding nutrition and
activity standards in child care licensing and strengthening
nutrition standards in the Child Care and Adult Food Program in
California. This bill is consistent with those efforts.
This bill is a modified version of AB 627 (Brownley) from 2009.
The provisions in AB 627 that required nutrition standards as a
condition of licensure were deleted from the bill in the Senate.
AB 2084 would create standards for beverages served in licensed
child care settings. The author states that research
increasingly points to sugary beverages, such as soda, sports
drinks, and juice drinks, as a major factor in rising rates of
obesity. The extra calories from sugar drinks accounts for
nearly half of the increase in calories Americans have consumed
over the past 30 years. A simple switch from these sugary
drinks to water could result in 235 fewer calories consumed per
day. AB 2084 encourages healthier habits by establishing
guidelines for beverages provided by providers, including
restricting sugary drinks, encouraging water consumption,
limiting juice to one serving of 100% juice, and promoting
low-fat and non-fat milk. These nutrition guidelines are
consistent with the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans and
recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
This bill is also consistent with the Governor's initiative to
fight obesity. In part, the Governor proposes to require school
districts to make fresh drinking water available in food service
areas and prohibit the sale of sports drinks in middle and high
schools.
Analysis Prepared by : Frances Chacon / HUM. S. / (916)
319-2089
FN: 0004431