Committee blocks HB1035. Bill would stop use of YOUR TAXES to pay for sodas and junk food.
ACTION ALERT: HB1035 passed the Arkansas House of Representatives but failed in Senate committee on February 9, 2017. We hope the bill will be presented to the committee again.
HB1035 by Representative Mary Bentley (R) is a common-sense measure to remove soda drinks and junk food from the items that may be provided under SNAP benefits (still commonly called “food stamps).” This government program was supposed to be about providing nutrition to low income citizens, not junk food and sodas.
A common complaint among shoppers is seeing our tax dollars spent on junk food and soda drinks instead of on food staples. “If it is not about nourishment why are we paying for it?”
HB1035 was blocked in the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare and Labor but could be brought up again.
You may be surprised to learn this is a Republican controlled committee with 6 of the 8 committee members being Republicans. Apparently, HB1035 was supported by only 3 of 8 committee members! There was only a voice vote (no roll call vote) so we must rely on information from Representative Bentley indicating that only Senators Cecile Bledsoe, Missy Irving, and Scott Flippo were for the bill.[i]
Why did the bill fail in committee? The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported “Asked about the fate of her bill, Bentley said lobbying by grocers — who argued that the cost of implementation would fall on their stores — and soft-drink manufacturers had sunk the measure.”[ii] In social media, she added, “Unfortunately, the lobbyists for WalMart and EZmart had more pull than the taxpayers.”
Soft drink manufacturers oppose taking sodas out of the food stamp program, but they weren’t complaining a few days ago, when the legislature passed Act 141 which gives them a big tax break by reducing the special excise tax on bottled soft drinks, soft-drink powders and on soft-drink syrups.
Walmart and grocers complain of the cost of implementation, but they didn’t make a big fuss about the cost of implementing Governor Asa Hutchinson’s new law increasing the tax on candy and soda drinks.
Is it really about the cost of implementation or are they just worried about not selling as much junk food and sodas through the government SNAP (food stamp) program.
Sponsors of HB1035 – By: Representatives Bentley, Richmond, Dotson, Ballinger, Barker, Beck, Boyd, Brown, Coleman, Davis, Deffenbaugh, C. Douglas, Drown, C. Fite, L. Fite, Gates, M. Gray, Hammer, G. Hodges, Holcomb, Jean, Ladyman, Lemons, Lowery, A. Mayberry, McCollum, McNair, D. Meeks, S. Meeks, Payton, Petty, Pilkington, B. Smith, Speaks, Sullivan, Vaught, Watson, Womack, Wardlaw, Lundstrum
By: Senators Bledsoe, Collins-Smith, Flippo, B. Johnson, Rice, G. Stubblefield
Help get HB1035 get past the committee road block!
Here is the roster of the Senate Public Health Welfare and Labor Committee. Support for HB1035 listed as noted by Representative Bentley.
Senator Cecile Bledsoe (R) – Chair
709 Sky Mountain Dr., Rogers, 72757
Phone 479-636-2115
Email [email protected]
FOR HB1035
Senator Scott Flippo (R)
P.O. Box 705, Bull Shoals, 72619
Phone 870-421-3420
Email [email protected]
FOR HB1035
Senator Missy Irvin (R)
P. O. Box 106, Mountain View, 72560
Phone 870-269-2703
Email [email protected]
FOR HB1035
Committee members who did not support HB1035
Senator John Cooper (R)
P. O. Box 16801, Jonesboro, 72404
Phone 870-761-0130
Email [email protected]
Senator Lance Eads (R)
P.O. Box 8343, Springdale, 72766
Phone 479-435-5139
Email [email protected]
Senator David J. Sanders (R)
Room 320 State Capitol, Little Rock, 72201
Phone 501-682-6107
Email [email protected]
Senator Eddie Cheatham (D) – Vice Chair
2814 Ashley 239, Crossett, 71635
Phone 870-364-5659
Email [email protected]
Senator Stephanie Flowers (D)
217 South Main Street, Pine Bluff, 71601
Phone 870-535-1032
Email [email protected]
[i] The three Senators are listed as supporting the bill in social media post by Representative Bentley
[ii] Bid to curb junk food, soda on food stamps in Arkansas fails, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 2/9/2017