HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1075        FILED ON: 1/15/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1846

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Ruth B. Balser

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act creating a commission to study the need to reduce salt and sugar content in meals served in restaurants, schools, and public spaces.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1075        FILED ON: 1/15/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1846

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

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An Act creating a commission to study the need to reduce salt and sugar content in meals served in restaurants, schools, and public spaces.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1: There shall be a commission to study the relationship between high sodium and sugar content in meals served in restaurants, schools, and other places of public accommodation and its impact on public health.

The commission shall consist of the Commissioner of Public Health, or her designee; the House and Senate Chairs of the Joint Committee on Public Health, or their designees; the House and Senate Chairs of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing or their designees; and the following nine members whom the Governor shall appoint: a representative of the food industry; a representative from the area of meal preparation for public schools in the Commonwealth; a representative in the area of food services at health care facilities; a representative from the medical community with specialization in cardiology; a representative from the medical community with specialization in kidney disease; a representative from the medical community with specialization in gastroenterology; a representative who is an expert in nutrition and dietetics who is a faculty member at University of Massachusetts; a representative from the health insurance industry; and a representative from the non-profit community in the field of education and advocacy for the accommodation of foods for individuals that have been prescribed a special diet because of a chronic medical condition or a food allergy.

The commission shall study the impacts of sugar and sodium in meals sold or provided in restaurants, schools and other public spaces on public health in the Commonwealth. The commission shall make recommendations regarding the actions required to educate food providers and the public about these impacts, and actions, if necessary, to follow other municipalities throughout the country and regulate or request voluntary actions for the disclosure of sugar and sodium content on menus.

The Commission shall publish its findings and recommendations, together with drafts of legislation, if any, necessary to carry those recommendations into effect, in a written report not later than 2 years after the effective date of this act. The report shall be published on the official website of the Commonwealth, and shall be contemporaneously filed with the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means, the House and Senate Chairs of the Joint Committee on Public Health, and the House and Senate Chairs of the Joint Committee on Healthcare Financing.