California governor OKs 12-year soda tax ban

UPDATE: 6/28/2018 3:23 p.m. Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a measure blocking new local taxes on soda and other sugary drinks for the next 12 years.

Beverage companies such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have moved to convince state Legislatures around the country to block local taxation of sugary drinks. A growing number of cities are looking toward taxes to discourage people from drinking beverages linked to obesity.

Brown’s signature Thursday clears the way for the California Business Roundtable to withdraw a ballot measure that would ask voters to make it harder for local governments to raise taxes of any kind.

Brown took heat when a photo emerged showing him alongside beverage industry lobbyists at the governor’s mansion. Brown’s spokesman says the meeting earlier this month was unrelated to the deal.

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The California Senate has reluctantly approved a measure prohibiting new local taxes on soda for the next 12 years, with Democrats saying the beverage industry has put lawmakers in an untenable position.

The measure approved Thursday is part of an effort to eliminate a ballot measure that would make it much harder for local governments to raise taxes of any kind. The California Business Roundtable will cancel the ballot measure if lawmakers ban soda taxes.

Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco says the industry “is aiming a nuclear weapon at government in California.”

The measure now goes to the Assembly, which was expected to take it up later Thursday.

Arizona and Michigan have state pre-emption laws blocking local soda taxes, and voters in Oregon will decide the issue this November.