Food labeling and committee fun

Between the Lines – Patty Label

(Note to self: My Patti LaBelle reference is too obscure.)

You may recall that the California Restaurant Association filed a lawsuit to stop the enforcement of the City’s food-labeling ordinance. Enacted on March 24, that ordinance mandates that all restaurants with 20 or more locations in California prominently display calories, saturated fat, carbohydrates and sodium for each menu item in locations within San Francisco. The resturant association argued (correctly, I think) that California state law already covers the issue of food labeling, which makes the local law unenforceable.

While the matter was being litigated, the state legislature passed and the Governor signed Senate Bill 1420, which requires restaurants with 20 or more locations in California to display calorie content on menus and provide nutritional information about carbohydrates, protein,et al. elsewhere. (Bill here: Download SB1420.pdf.) It also contains an explicit provision that local governments can't pass laws on the subject of nutritional labeling at restaurants. (Sec. 2(J).) The judge hasn’t officially ruled yet on the effect of the CA law on the lawsuit. But you can bet that the SF law will be null and void leaving the CA law - which will require much (but not all) of the same thing. The state law will go into effect July 1, 2009.

So, in a few months, as you trip over a pothole whilst walking past that homeless person who sleeps near the apartment you can barely afford, at least you’ll know how many calories are in that burger you just ate.

This Week in Committee

The Board of Supervisors didn’t meet this week, but there’s still fun to be had at City Hall. Today at 1 p.m., there is a meeting of the City Operations and Neighborhood Services Committee. Here are a few agenda items:

1. A hearing on the abuse of disabled parking placards, because nothing makes people do evil things like lack of parking. (Download disabled_placards.pdf.)

2. Codification of Proposition K, passed in 2007, which limits advertising on public property. Now can we get rid of the Carole Migden billboards? Pretty please? (Download advertising_limitations.pdf.)

3. A hearing on the cutbacks in street cleaning from once per week to twice per month in certain areas of districts 1, 2, 4, 7 and 8. Expect everything from multimedia presentations to fisticuffs about this one. I can’t wait! (Download street_sweeping_reduction_reso_2.doc.)

--Melissa