BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1746
Page A
Date of Hearing: April 18, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1746 (Williams) - As Introduced: February 17, 2012
Policy Committee: Education
Vote:7-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill, beginning July 1, 2013, prohibits an electrolyte
replacement beverage (ERB) that contains no more than 42 grams
of added sweetener per 20-ounce serving from being sold to
middle and high school pupils from one-half hour before the
start of the schoolday until one-half hour after the end of the
schoolday.
FISCAL EFFECT
Beginning in the 2013-14 fiscal year, annual loss of revenue, of
approximately $400,000 statewide, to school districts by
limiting the sale of ERBs in middle and high schools, as
specified. There are 416 school districts with middle and high
schools in the state. This cost estimate assumes only 10% of
school districts experience a revenue loss. For example,
several school districts report ERB sales accounts for between
45% and 70% of their total beverage sales. Districts also
indicate the sale of ERBs and flavored water generates the
largest profit. To the extent this revenue loss leads to
reductions in a district's meal program, there will be GF/98
cost pressure to mitigate these reductions. This revenue is
also flexible and may be used for any purpose district staff
deem appropriate.
The author provided the committee with information indicating
school districts that voluntarily banned ERBs from their schools
experienced marginal revenue loss and in one instance, a
district experienced a higher profit margin from an increased
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sale of water. Also, recent national studies indicate schools
"are raising modest amounts of money from beverage contracts,
amounts that could be replaced by selling healthier beverages or
though alternative fundraising approaches."<1>
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . According to an article in the Journal of the
American Academy of Pediatrics (May 2011) entitled: Sports
Drinks and Energy Drinks for Children and Adolescents: Are
They Appropriate (Committee on Nutrition and the Council on
Sports Medicine and Fitness), the number of children consuming
sports drinks is growing. For example, among 78 adolescents
surveyed 56.4% used sports drinks two weeks prior to the
survey. The article states: "Adolescents consumed these
products for various reasons including good taste, quenched
thirst, and extra energy needed to improve sports
performance."
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports "the percentage
of children aged 6-11 years in the United States who were
obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 20% in 2008.
Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12-19 years who
were obese increased from 5% to 18% over the same period. In
2008, more than one third of children and adolescents were
overweight or obese."
According to the author, "There is a common misconception that
sports drinks, also known as ERBs, are healthy. Yet many
contain high fructose corn syrup and/or other calorie-laden
sweeteners that have been linked to the rise in childhood
obesity, the primary cause of type-2 diabetes. A recent study
indicated that eight of the top 10 beverages sold a la carte
in California's public high schools are sports drinks, clearly
becoming the drink of choice for those students wanting a
substitute for soda. While a few school districts, such as
the San Francisco Unified School District, have recognized the
problem and have taken it upon themselves to remove these
--------------------------
<1>Raw Deal: School Beverage Contract Less Lucrative Than They
Seem, The Center for Science in the Public Interest and The
Public Health Advocacy Institute (2006)
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beverages from their campuses, the vast majority have not.
California needs to be a leader and remove these unnecessary
and calorie-laden beverages from all of its school campuses."
2)Electrolyte replacement beverages (ERBs) are designed to
replace fluids after exercise and generally contain sodium and
potassium to improve fluid absorption in the body. According
to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report on
Carbohydrate/ERBs, "carbohydrate/ERBs provide carbohydrate
(glucose, sucrose, glucose polymers) replacement to sustain
energy output, and electrolytes (sodium, potassium) to replace
those lost in sweat." The USDA report states that ERBs may be
useful for individuals who have lost large quantities of
fluids through sweating on a daily basis, and those who
perform continuous exercise for more than 60 minutes. The
report, however, concludes there is no need to substitute ERBs
for water as a primary form of fluid replacement.
According to a University of California Center for Weight and
Health (UC Center) information sheet on sports drinks (2007),
"research shows that even when children exercise vigorously
(i.e., running nonstop for an entire hour) water is just as
good at adding back the fluids they need while keeping their
electrolytes in balance." The UC Center also states: "Children
get plenty of electrolytes from the food they eat, so during
the school day and at most practices, sports drinks don't
provide any extra benefit over water."
3)Costs of childhood obesity . A report entitled: The Economic
Impact of Obesity in the United States (Hammon, R. and Levine,
R., Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C., 2010) estimates
"the annual direct costs of childhood obesity �to be] about
$14.3 billion. In addition to these immediate costs, current
childhood obesity implies future direct costs given that
overweight children and adolescents may become obese adults.
�Several studies] simulate the costs of excess obesity (and
associated diseases) among US adults aged 35 to 64 years from
2020 to 2050. Results suggest that currently existing levels
of adolescent overweight will result in close to $45 billion
in direct medical costs over this period, affecting young as
well as middle-aged adults."
4)Opposition . The California Nevada Soft Drink Association
(CNSDA) opposes this bill, unless it is amended.
Specifically, CNSDA states, "We believe there is a better
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option - to provide choice and no and low calorie beverage
alternatives to these students. We also recommend that
�Assemblymember Williams] reevaluate the types of beverages
that should be allowed on middle and high school campuses.
The original provisions were adopted seven years ago when many
of the beverage options that are now available did not exist.
Beverages like low-calorie flavored waters, lower and
no-calorie sports drinks, and a variety of beverages like
vitaminwater, SoBe, and Propel Water. This would allow
schools to sell alternative beverages with low or no calories
as well as raise much needed revenues for a variety of
programs."
CNSDA also states the soft drink industry adopted voluntary
school beverage guidelines on a national basis in 2006. They
also contend: "These guidelines allow sports drinks or other
beverages that contain no more than 66 calories per eight
ounce serving. Our member soft drink bottlers also have
voluntary limited the sale of sports drinks to only high
schools and limited portion size to no more than 12 ounces."
5)Non-fiscal bill . This bill is keyed non-fiscal; the
committee, however, requested to hear this measure to examine
any potential loss of revenue by school districts due to the
probation on the sale of ERBs. Over the years, this committee
has consistently requested to examine bills that limit the
sales of food and beverages at schools for their fiscal impact
to school districts.
6)Existing law . Since 2001, there have been three legislative
measures: SB 19 (Escutia), Chapter 913, Statutes of 2001, SB
677 (Ortiz), Chapter 415, Statutes of 2003, and SB 965
(Escutia), Chapter 237, Statutes of 2005, that have regulated
beverage sales at elementary, middle, and high schools. SB 19
limited beverage sales at elementary schools; SB 677 extended
the elementary school limitations to middle schools; and SB
965 extended the middle school limitations to high schools.
The following chart represents current law regarding the types
of beverages allowed to be sold at schools during specified
time periods.
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AB 1746
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| Beverage | Elementary | Middle and High |
| | Schoolsa | Schoolsb |
|-----------------------------------+---------------+------------------|
|Fruit-based drinks that are | | |
|composed of no less than 50% fruit | X | X |
|juice and have no added sweetener | | |
|-----------------------------------+---------------+------------------|
|Vegetable-based drinks that are | | |
|composed of no less than 50% | X | X |
|vegetable juice and have no added | | |
|sweetener. | | |
|-----------------------------------+---------------+------------------|
|Drinking water with no added | X | X |
|sweetener. | | |
|-----------------------------------+---------------+------------------|
|Two percent fat milk, one percent | | |
|fat milk, soy milk, rice milk, and | X | X |
|other similar non-dairy milk. | | |
|-----------------------------------+---------------+------------------|
|ERB that contains no more than 42 | | |
|grams of added sweetener per 20 | |X |
|ounce serving. | | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
aAt elementary schools, these beverages may be sold
regardless of the time of day.
bAt middle and high schools, these beverages may only be
sold from one-half hour before the start of the schoolday
to one-half hour after the end of the schoolday.
7)Previous legislation . SB 1255 (Padilla), identical to this
measure, was held on this committee's suspense file in August
2010.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081