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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, A proposed tax on sugar-sweetened beverages to
3generate revenue to balance the State's budget has been
4contemplated by some policymakers; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Adding an additional tax on sugar-sweetened
6beverages will raise grocery costs for hardworking Illinois
7families and kill Illinois jobs; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Studies have concluded that any obesity-related
9benefit of decreased sugar-sweetened beverage consumption that
10comes from a tax is negligible or offset by individual
11circumstances and environments; for instance, West Virginia
12has had a sugar-sweetened beverage tax since 1951 and has the
13second highest obesity rate in the United States at 35.6%;
14since 1990, the diabetes rate in West Virginia has more than
15doubled from 6.7% to 14.5%; Arkansas has had a sugar-sweetened
16beverage tax since 1992; during this time, obesity rates have
17doubled from 17% to 34.5%, ranking it the sixth-highest rate in
18the United States; additionally, the diabetes rate has doubled
19from 5.8% to 12.6%; and
 
20    WHEREAS, If the sugar-sweetened beverage tax will reduce
21consumption as the advocates claim, then it will in turn
22negatively impact bottlers, manufacturers, agricultural

 

 

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1suppliers, distributors, retailers, and labor; with more than
2100,000 Illinois residents directly and indirectly employed by
3the beverage industry, the vast beverage industry could face
4layoffs if the sugar-sweetened beverage tax is signed into law;
5and
 
6    WHEREAS, Beverage-related jobs create $654 million in
7wages in Illinois, with an additional $702 million in wages for
8occupations that rely on beverage sales; passing this soda
9beverage tax would decrease sales, resulting in a decrease in
10local and State revenue at a time when governments across
11Illinois are facing declining revenue; and
 
12    WHEREAS, A soda tax will provide additional incentive to
13the two-thirds of Illinois residents who live within a
1440-minute drive of a neighboring state to shop in that
15neighboring state and therefore further weaken tax receipts and
16cripple local businesses; specifically, Illinois retailers
17that border other states will be put at an even greater
18competitive disadvantage with out-of-state retailers; and
 
19    WHEREAS, A recent proposal would impose an unreasonable new
20State penny-per-ounce tax that would result in 68 cents in new
21taxes on a typical 99-cent, two-liter bottle of soda; and
 
22    WHEREAS, An additional tax on sugar-sweetened beverages

 

 

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1goes against the pro-business, pro-jobs, pro-growth policies
2that should be under careful consideration as Illinois seeks to
3regain sound financial footing; therefore, be it
 
4    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
5HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
6we fully support our hardworking citizens and oppose all
7efforts, on the State or local level, to impose new taxes on
8beverages and food; and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That we state our firm opposition to any
10additional taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages.