Senate committee approves soda fee

The state Senate Health Committee voted Monday to advance a soda fee of 1 cent per ounce — or $1.28 per gallon — that would raise about $37 million a year to counter obesity.

Money from the soda fee would go toward state programs to prevent and treat obesity and chronic diseases such as diabetes. Senators hope a soda fee, like higher taxes on tobacco, will reduce consumption.

The beverage industry and local retailers have complained that a soda fee unfairly identifies sugar-sweetened beverages as the primary cause of obesity when diet and a lack of exercise are also factors.

Sen. Josh Green (D, Naalehu-Kailua-Kona), an emergency room doctor and chairman of the Senate Health Committee, had rejected a soda tax proposed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie two years ago. But the senator said he was swayed by arguments from public-health advocates to move a bill this year.

Abercrombie has also been personally lobbying senators in favor of a soda fee. The bill must still clear the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee and the Senate Ways and Means Committee before going before the full Senate.

"I thought people came and made a very clear case that this is something that can be used as one of the pieces to address obesity," Green said. "I don’t think it’s a silver bullet, but I think it’s worth going forward on."

Senate Minority Leader Sam Slom (R, Diamond Head-Kahala-Hawaii Kai) voted against Senate Bill 1085 as a "money grab" that could hurt the local beverage industry and retailers.

"We are once again putting the state in place of the parents," he said. "It is the parents’ responsibility to take care of their own children, and not the taxpayers, who are called upon to do all of the things for everything that comes out of this big square building."