2019 -- H 5427

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LC001506

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- HEALTHY BEVERAGE ACT

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Casimiro, Alzate, Shanley, Tobon, and Mendez

     Date Introduced: February 14, 2019

     Referred To: House Health, Education & Welfare

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Title 21 of the General Laws entitled "FOOD AND DRUGS" is hereby

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amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

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CHAPTER 38

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HEALTHY BEVERAGE ACT

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     21-38-1. Short title.

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     This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Healthy Beverage Act".

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     21-38-2. Legislative findings.

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     The general assembly hereby finds and declares that:

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     (1) Over the past thirty (30) years, the obesity rate in the United States has more than

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doubled. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two-thirds (68.5%) of

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American adults are overweight or obese. About one-third (33.3%) of children nationwide are

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overweight or obese. Obese children are at least twice as likely as non-obese children to become

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obese adults.

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     (2) Obese children and adults are at greater risk for numerous adverse health

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consequences, including type II diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, high

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cholesterol, certain cancers, asthma, low self-esteem, depression, and other debilitating diseases.

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     (3) Obesity-related health conditions have serious economic costs. Annual health care

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costs from obesity are at least one hundred and ninety billion dollars ($190,000,000,000) or

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twenty-one percent (21%) of total health care spending and are expected to rise substantially.

 

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Roughly forty percent (40%) of these costs are paid through Medicare and Medicaid, which

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means that taxpayers foot much of the bill. Obesity-related annual medical expenditures in Rhode

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Island are estimated at five hundred and fifty million dollars ($550,000,000) and more than half

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of these expenditures are incurred by the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

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     (4) Sugary drinks play a critical role in the obesity epidemic. Sugary drinks, including

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soda, energy and sports drinks, sweetened water and fruit drinks, provide the largest source of

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daily calories in the diets of American children ages two (2) to eighteen (18). Each extra serving

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of a sugary beverage consumed a day increases a child's chance of becoming obese by sixty

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percent (60%). Sugary drinks are also linked to other health problems, including a greater risk of

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cardiovascular disease in adolescents, higher blood pressure in adolescents, dental caries

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(cavities), and inadequate intake of nutrients, including calcium, iron folate, magnesium, and

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vitamin A.

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     (5) Nationwide, American children eat nineteen percent (19%) of their calories at fast-

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food and other restaurants. Children and adolescents who eat at both fast-food and full-service

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restaurants drink more sugary drinks and soda and less milk.

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     (6) Requiring restaurants to provide a healthy beverage as the "default" beverage

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automatically included in children's meals is an effective way to improve the nutritional quality of

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children's meals. The Disney Corporation moved to this practice at its worldwide resorts and, in

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2008, reported that at its American resorts sixty-eight percent (68%) of beverage orders included

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the default healthier option.

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     (7) By enacting this chapter, the general assembly intends to support parents' efforts to

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feed their children healthfully by ensuring that healthy beverages are available to children in

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restaurants.

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     21-38-3. Definitions.

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     As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

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     (1) "Children's meal" means a combination of food and a beverage, sold together at a

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single price, primarily intended for consumption by children.

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     (2) "Default beverage" means a beverage automatically included or offered as part of a

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children's meal, absent a specific request for an alternate beverage by the purchaser of the

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children's meal.

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     (3) "Restaurant" means a food establishment that serves food to customers for

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consumption on or off the premises, including fast-food and full-service dining establishments. It

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includes, but is not limited to, drive through or walk-up counters, coffee shops, cafes, pizza

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parlors, and dine-in establishments.

 

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     21-38-4. Default beverages in children's meals.

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     (a) A restaurant that sells a children's meal that includes a beverage shall include a default

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beverage offered with the children's meal which shall be one of the following;

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     (1) Water, sparkling water, or flavored water, with no added natural or artificial

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sweeteners;

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     (2) Nonfat or one percent milk or non-dairy milk alternative containing no more than one

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hundred thirty (130) calories per container and/or serving as offered for sale; or

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     (3) One hundred percent (100%) fruit juice or fruit juice combined with water or

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carbonated water, with no added sweeteners, in a serving size of no more than eight ounces

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(8oz.).

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     (b) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a restaurant's ability to sell, or a customer's

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ability to purchase, a substitute or alternative beverage instead of the default beverage offered

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with a children's meal, if requested by the purchaser of the children's meal.

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     21-38-5. Enforcement.

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     The department of health shall implement, administer and enforce this section, and is

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hereby authorized to issue rules and regulations consistent with this section and shall have all

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necessary powers to carry out the purpose of this section.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2020.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- HEALTHY BEVERAGE ACT

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     This act would create the "Healthy Beverage Act" which would require that children's

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meals offered by restaurants include certain healthy beverage options if the beverage is

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automatically included in the meal.

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     This act would take effect on January 1, 2020.

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