2019 -- H 5427

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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:

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

amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

CHAPTER 38

HEALTHY BEVERAGE ACT

     21-38-1. Short title.

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

     21-38-2. Legislative findings.

     The general assembly hereby finds and declares that:

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

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

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

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

obese adults.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

vitamin A.

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

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

restaurants drink more sugary drinks and soda and less milk.

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

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

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

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

the default healthier option.

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

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

restaurants.

     21-38-3. Definitions.

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

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

single price, primarily intended for consumption by children.

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

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

children's meal.

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

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

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

parlors, and dine-in establishments.

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

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

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

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

sweeteners;

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

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

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

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

(8oz.).

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

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

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

     21-38-5. Enforcement.

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

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

necessary powers to carry out the purpose of this section.

     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

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

automatically included in the meal.

     This act would take effect on January 1, 2020.

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