2006 STATE LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY ISSUES
Human Resources State Update - July 2006
** If you know of any issues facing the baking industry in your State please contact Mike Florio, Federal & State Government Relations Manager at mflorio@americanbakers.org **
Arizona - State Min. Wage Increase on November Ballot
The Arizona Secretary of State's Office certified a petition for the Nov. 7 general election ballot that calls for an increase in the state's minimum wage. It will appear on the ballot as Proposition 202.
The measure, if approved, would raise the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $6.75, effective Jan. 1, 2007. Arizona does not have a statewide minimum wage, and it is set by default at the federal rate of $5.15 per hour.
It could not immediately be determined, however, whether a court challenge to the ballot question would be undertaken.
The initiative would include an exemption for small businesses with less than $500,000 gross annual revenue and would include an annual cost of living increase.
California – Schwarzenegger Opposes National Uniformity Food Act
On April 18th, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) announced his opposition to the National Uniformity for Food Act of 2005. This bill recently was passed by the US House and is now making its way through the US Senate. If passed, the bill would establish one uniform national food safety standards that will provide all Americans with the same high level of confidence and protection.
This pending federal legislation would preempt California’s Proposition 65, which authorizes the State to issue warnings related to public health and safety concerns. Gov. Schwarzenegger has written a letter to both California Senators Feinstein and Boxer asking them to oppose this legislation.
ABA supports the passage of the National Uniformity for Food Act. ABA believes that consumers deserve a single uniform standard when it comes to food safety, and this bill will allow states and the FDA to work collaboratively in establishing sound food safety policies that benefit, not confuse consumers.
ABA will continue to work with and actively support the National Uniformity for Food Coalition, as this legislation is considered by the US Senate. ABA urges all members to contact your Senators and voice your support for quick passage of this bill. More
on this...
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Colorado – Gov. Owens Vetoes School Food and Beverage Restrictions
On April 11, Colorado Governor Bill Owens (R) vetoed House Bill 1056, which would have required each school district to adopt a policy that states that at least 50 percent of all items offered in vending machines on school property meet acceptable nutrition standards by the 2008-2009 school year.
In his veto, Governor Owens says he supports improving child nutrition and physical activity, however, he just “cannot support legislation that micromanages school districts and their policies”.
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Florida – Bill to Ban HFCS in Schools Passes Committee, but Dies for the Year
Earlier this year, Rep. Juan Zapata (R-Miami) of the Florida State Legislature introduced HB 629, legislation that would ban the sale or use of products containing high fructose corn syrup from school food service programs and on school grounds.
On March 21st, this bill was passed out of the Florida House PreK-12 Education Committee by a vote of 9-0. The bill was originally assigned to four committees and must still pass the other 3 committees before it can be considered before the full House. The bill will next head to the House Health Care General Committee. This committee has already held its last meeting for this session and will not take up the bill this year.
A companion bill, SB 2414, introduced by Sen. Gwen Margolis (D-Broward) has not yet been scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Education Committee.
ABA will continue to monitor this legislation and work with in-state allies as well as the Don’t Tax Food Coalition to oppose this or any related bill.
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Illinois – State Panel Rejects Junk Food Ban
Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) was dealt a blow in his plan to limit the junk food sold is schools across the state when a committee rejected his proposal. Lawmakers on the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules voted 10-1 against his plan to prohibit the sale of soda pop, chips and candy before and during the school day for children up to 8th grade.
Some lawmakers voted against the proposal because it was not tough enough and it didn't cover what can be served in school lunch lines. Gov. Blagojevich says he plans to go back to the drawing board with his proposal. The governor has been pushing to ban junk food in schools for more than two years.
The proposed rule would have required, commencing on the first day of the 2006-2007 school year, all schools that participate in the National School Breakfast and Lunch Program that operate classes of grade 8 or below to prohibit the sale to students of any “minimally nutritious items” before school and during the school day. A "minimally nutritious item" was defined as those food items whose calories from total fat exceed 35 percent, excluding nuts and seeds; calories from saturated fat exceed 10 percent; and total sugar exceeds 35 percent. Any item over 200 calories was also included in the definition. The rule would have applied to any food or beverage items sold to students including a la carte items, vended items, and any items sold as part of any fundraising event, but not to items offered as part of the federal reimbursable meal.
As this proposal is reconsidered, ABA will work with its allies to monitor and fight unjust state level legislation that would categorize good versus bad foods.
***Issue Update***
On Wednesday, June 21, the Illinois State Board of Education will consider a motion to adopt amendments to the food and beverage restrictions that were rejected 10-1 by the legislative Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) in April. The amendments are a response to JCAR’s concerns with the original proposed regulations and are not considered a new rulemaking, and therefore allows for no public comment. Should the Board adopt the amendments, they will again be submitted to JCAR for consideration. However, the State Board of Education will revisit the nutrition standards next year and initiate a new rulemaking to align them with recommendations expected to be released by the statewide School Wellness Policy Task Force in January 2007.
Illinois - Gov. to Sign Bill Clearing the Way for Punitive Damages in Wage Disputes
Workers denied their proper wages under Illinois' minimum wage statute would have a stronger chance of collecting punitive damages from their employers under legislation headed to the desk of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D).
The legislation, Senate Bill 2339, amends the Illinois minimum wage law by establishing an employer's liability for punitive damages in all cases where wages have been underpaid. The bill passed the Senate May 4 by a vote of 55-3 after winning unanimous support in the House May 2. Organized labor sources said the bill is expected to receive the governor's approval.
S.B. 2339 would bridge the gap in state law highlighted in a February 2005 appellate court decision. That decision denied punitive damages to a class of plaintiffs in a minimum wage dispute because the Illinois Department of Labor had not been a party in the litigation (Gelb v. Air Con Refrigeration & Heating Inc., Ill. App. Ct. 4th Div., No. 00 L 1511, 2/24/05).
Business and labor joined with the department in remedying the minimum wage statute. Currently, Illinois workers who are underpaid because of violations of the minimum wage law are permitted to file civil actions against their employers. The law permits recovery of underpayments, costs, and attorneys' fees.
The legislation specifies that such damages are available to affected workers in cases where a civil action has been filed directly by an employee or a group of employees. Punitive damages would be assessed at 2 percent of the amount of the underpayment for each month the wages remained unpaid.
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Maryland – Bill to Restrict School Food & Beverage Dies
On April 10, House Bill 1418, a bill to establish a blue ribbon task force to fight childhood obesity, and SB 457 legislation prohibiting the sale of foods of “minimal nutritional value” in all school vending machines between 12:01 a.m. and the end of the school day effectively died as the legislative session adjourned.
The bill did pass the House and was returned to the Senate, but the differences in each version were not rectified before the session closed on April 10.
ABA will continue to work with in-state allies and promote sensible alternatives based on sound science to combat childhood obesity.
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Massachusetts - Senate Overrides Gov. Veto on Employer Health Insurance Assessment
On May 4th, 2006, the state Senate voted 32-7 to require employers of 11 or more workers that do not provide health insurance to pay an annual assessment of up to $295 per employee, thus overriding a veto by Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R). The employer assessment, part of a landmark health expansion bill passed last month (H. 4479), was the most important provision of the bill vetoed by Romney when he signed it into law April 12.
Additionally, Gov. Romney
announced that the state had submitted the health expansion plan to the federal government in a bid to avoid losing $385 million in Medicaid reimbursement. The Massachusetts submission to the federal government argues that the new law meets federal requirements by subsidizing private insurance for low-income individuals to reduce the number of uninsured, directs more money to individuals and less to institutions, and improves the fiscal integrity of its Medicaid program.
Under the timeline in the state plan, an agency to coordinate provision of insurance would be up and running between May and October. In addition, the agency would begin offering products by January, and open enrollment would start next March, in anticipation of the July 2007 effective date of the law's individual insurance requirement.
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Massachusetts- State Senate Proposes Highest Minimum Wage in the US
On May 25th, the Massachusetts Senate unanimously endorsed a proposal to increase the state's minimum wage to $8.25 an hour, the highest in the country, beginning in September 2007.
Under this proposal, the minimum wage would be increased by $1.50 per hour in two steps, from the current $6.75 to $7.50 in September 2006 and to $8.25 in September 2007, and future increases would be linked to the inflation rate.
The minimum wage hike was approved by a vote of 39-0 as an amendment to the 2007 state budget (S. 3) still under consideration in the Senate. The House is expected to act on a minimum wage proposal later in this year's legislative session.
Under the escalator provision, the minimum wage would be increased each September after 2007 based on the May consumer price index for all urban consumers.
Currently, six states and the District of Columbia have minimum wage rates at or above $7 per hour. If the Massachusetts measure becomes law, the state would have one of the top three minimum wage rates (Washington, $7.63, and Oregon $7.50) in the country by September and would have the highest rate next year, according to federal Labor Department data.
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Michigan - Legislature passes Biotech bill, Heads to Governor's office
Michigan, another State that has entered the GMO debate, recently sent legislation to the Governors office which would prohibit local regulation of genetically modified crops, but would provide an exemption if the Michigan Commission of Agriculture signs off on the regulation.
Support of this bill argues that farmers should not have to worry about the community restricting their ability to plant crops. Many organic farmers oppose the bill, because they fear, that should the GMO seeds drift and contaminate their crops, that they could lose their “organic certification”, which has become important to many consumers.
There is no word yet on whether Governor Granholm (D) plans to sign the bill. ABA will continue to monitor this legislation.
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New York - New York City Aims to Ban Trans Fat
On September 27th, the New York City Health Department unveiled a proposal that would bar cooks at any of the city's 24,600 food service establishments from using ingredients that contain trans fat, commonly listed on food labels as partially hydrogenated oil.
A restaurant could face a fine if an inspector finds the wrong type of vegetable shortening on its shelves. The proposal also would create a huge problem for national chains. Among the fast foods that would need to get an overhaul or face a ban: McDonald's french fries, Kentucky Fried Chicken and several varieties of Dunkin' Donuts.
Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden acknowledged that the ban would be a challenge for restaurants, but he said trans fats can easily be replaced with substitute oils that taste the same or better and are far less unhealthy.
Under the New York proposal, restaurants would need to get artificial trans fats out of cooking oils, margarine and shortening by July 1, 2007, and all other foodstuffs by July 1, 2008. It would not affect grocery stores. It also would not apply to naturally occurring trans fats, which are found in some meats and dairy.
The Board of Health has yet to approve the proposal and will not do so until at least December, Frieden said.
***Issue Update***
On December 5th, The Board of Health voted to make New York the nation's first city to ban artificial trans fats at restaurants -- from the corner pizzeria to high-end bakeries.
The board, which passed the ban unanimously, did give restaurants a slight break by relaxing what had been considered a tight deadline for compliance. Restaurants will be barred from using most frying oils containing artificial trans fats by July and will have to eliminate the artificial trans fats from all of their foods by July 2008.
The ban contains some exceptions; for instance, it would allow restaurants to serve foods that come in the manufacturer's original packaging.
For more information please see AP article: http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/12/05/ny.trans.fat.ap/index.html
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North Carolina- State Legislators Raise Minimum Wage
The minimum wage in North Carolina would increase to $6.15 per hour under a bill (H.B. 2174) approved by the state House of Representatives May 30.
By approving H.B. 2174, the House joined the Senate in voting for an increase of $1 per hour over the current $5.15 per hour as specified in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. However, the Senate's proposed increase was included in the FY 2006-07 budget bill (S.B. 1741) it approved May 15, rather than in a stand-alone bill, so further legislative action is required.
The increase approved by the Senate would take effect Sept. 1, while the House-passed bill calls for the boost to become effective Jan. 1, 2007.
To garner final legislative approval, the increase either would have to be included in a Senate-approved stand-alone bill or it would have to be included in the final budget approved by lawmakers. The differing effective dates also will have to be resolved.
A hike in the minimum wage is expected to achieve final approval by both lawmakers and Gov. Mike Easley (D).
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Ohio - Cleveland City Council Passes Trans Fat Resolution
Following the lead of New York City, Cleveland's City Council passed a resolution on December 13th encouraging a trans fats ban.
New York was the first major city to ban trans fat from public restaurants last week. Restaurants will be barred from using most frying oils containing artificial trans fats by July and will have to eliminate the artificial trans fats from all of their foods by July 2008.
In Cleveland, the resolution is not a law, but some health officials said it's, "A step in the right direction." Top of Page
Vermont - Gov. Vetoes Anti-Agriculture Biotech Bill
On May 16th,
Gov. Jim Douglas (R) vetoed a bill that would have made seed manufacturers liable for damages caused by genetically engineered seeds that drift into the fields of farms that do not want to use them. Douglas said the measure was unnecessary and divisive and would have caused manufacturers to raise prices or restrict the seed sales in Vermont.
The legislation recently passed both chambers of the State,77-63 in the House and 19-8 in the Senate. Douglas believed that the legislation provided no middle ground and threw Vermont into new legal territory. Douglas now plans to ask the agriculture secretary to bring together conventional and organic farmers to try to resolve the issues related to the seeds' use.
Supporters of the bill vowed to continue to push for farmer and consumer protection and have accused Douglas of bowing to the pressures of the seed manufacturer's.
ABA will continue to work with industry partners and will monitor state level biotech legislation impacting food.
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West Virginia -
Governor Proposes Selective Tax on “Non-healthy” Foods, Candy and Soft
On October 30, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin III (D) called for a special session to address his tax reform agenda that includes dropping the tax on food from 5% to 3% and raising the tax on “non-healthy” foods, including candy, chips, soft drinks and vended items from 5% to 6%. The special session begins November 9.
Senate President Earl Tomblin (D-Logan) and House Speaker Bob Kiss (D-Raleigh) stood with the governor at the press conference and endorsed the agenda for the special session.
It is believed that the Governor hopes to move through this session and agenda quickly and hopes to have the support of the industry on this tax increase.
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Wisconsin – Gov. Signs Bill Preventing Obesity Lawsuits
Gov. Jim Doyle (D) “flip flopped” and signed a bill into law on April 14th that bans people from suing restaurants for making them fat. Doyle, a Democrat, vetoed a similar Republican bill in 2004 saying that he did not think restaurants had been burdened by obesity lawsuits. Since then more states have adopted similar measures, likewise, more people have filed such lawsuits nationally.
The bill creates an exemption for the food industry from civil claims related to weight gain, obesity or health conditions caused by eating food. Twenty-two other states have banned obesity lawsuits against restaurants, and similar bills are pending in 10 additional states.
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