ChangeLab Solutions' vice president of law, Sabrina Adler, was recently quoted in a Santa Cruz Local article examining Big Soda's attempts to stop a proposed sugary drink tax in Santa Cruz, California.
Large beverage companies, including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Keurig Dr. Pepper, and Red Bull, have contributed between $800,000 and $1.24 million to the No on Z campaign, and their efforts aim to persuade voters to reject Measure Z, a proposed 2-cents-per-ounce soda tax on Santa Cruz’s November 5 ballot. Big Soda's spending against the proposed tax amounts to about $67 for every “no” vote needed to reject the measure.
"If the city wins a legal fight in Measure Z, it could clear the way for other charter cities in California to adopt soda taxes."
―Sabrina Adler, ChangeLab Solutions
Conclusive evidence demonstrates the positive health effects of sugary drink taxes. And in multiple communities around the Bay Area, the revenue from these taxes has been used to successfully support local nonprofits doing critical health and education work.
Beverage industry–backed efforts to stop new sugary drink taxes peaked with passage of the deceptively named 2018 Keep Groceries Affordable Act — a statewide ban on new city-level sugary drink taxes in California that was passed using shady political tactics that state senate leaders and prominent editorial boards referred to as “blackmail,” “extortion,” a “shakedown,” and a “hostage” situation.
In 2023, a California appeals court struck down part of that law as a violation of the California constitution. Measure Z represents the first opportunity for voters to decide on a local sugary drink tax in California since the appeals court's decision.
The Santa Cruz Local article quotes ChangeLab Solutions' vice president of law, Sabrina Adler, on the wider positive effects should voters approve Measure Z:
“This is not just about Santa Cruz. If the city wins a legal fight in Measure Z, it could clear the way for other charter cities in California to adopt soda taxes," Adler said.
Read the full article on the Santa Cruz Local website.
10/24/2024
