Kansas Health Institute | Information For Policy Makers. Health for Kansans.

TOPEKA — A bill that would tax makers or first vendors of soda pop and other sugary drinks at 1 cent per teaspoon of sugar is scheduled to be heard Wednesday by the Senate Assessment & Taxation Committee.

Senate Bill 567 will have the support of health advocates and groups looking for ways to close the state's budget gap but will be opposed by the hospitality industry, which is already trying to sink bills that would raise taxes on alcohol and tobacco.

"We use soda pops in our industry, so it would be a double whammy if you happen to like rum and Coke," said Phil Bradley, a lobbyist for the Kansas Licensed Beverage Association.

The Senate tax panel today heard testimony from opponents of an increased tobacco tax and is scheduled to continue hearing various tax plans through next week. The committee is set to take up Thursday the governor's proposed 1 cent increase in the general sales tax

Next week, in addition to the soda pop tax, the committee is scheduled to hear a bill that would increase alcohol taxes.

Roderick Bremby, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, told committee members on Tuesday that obesity-related illnesses were costing government health programs in Kansas at least $280 million a year and State Health Officer Dr. Jason Eberhart-Phillips has been waging something of a crusade against poor food habits.

The idea of taxing sugary drinks and other unhealthy foods is not a new one.

The U.S. Senate last May during the ongoing health reform debate considered taxing sugary drinks as a way to help pay for the reform plans.

New York Gov. David Paterson in 2008 also proposed a soda pop tax to help solve that state's budget problems. The tax as he proposed it would have raised about $1 billion a year.

A soda pop tax also has been proposed before in Kansas.

An official estimate on what a 1 cent tax would generate in Kansas has not yet been prepared, but supporters said it could raise up to $90 million a year.

Lawmakers are looking for ways to close an anticipated budget gap of $400 million to $500 million.

But it is too soon to gauge how much support the measure might have among legislators.

Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, R-Independence, a member of the tax committee, said he voted against a similar bill in 2002 or 2003 and is an unlikely supporter this go-around.

He said the connection between sugary drinks and obesity is known and the prospects of using a soda pop tax to lower the state's health care costs merits consideration.

"I think it needs to be a part of the discussion" he said. "But this is not a proposal that I looked and immediately thought: This is a good idea."