San Mateo and Los Angeles County menu labeling ordinances pass first step to becoming law

On Tuesday, August 12, in two different counties, similar local menu labeling ordinances requiring posting of nutritional information directly on menus, menu boards and food tags, passed before the respective Board of Supervisors. While a subsequent hearing and vote is still required in both counties to formally pass the ordinances into law, changing the Supervisors’ votes will be an uphill battle.

Los Angeles

On August 12, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (BOS) voted 4-1 to direct Los Angeles County Health Department staff to draft a menu labeling ordinance for the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County. While specific language has yet to be determined, the ordinance will be similar to menu labeling ordinances already passed in San Francisco and Santa Clara which require posting of nutritional information directly on menus, menu boards and food tags.

Those Supervisors voting Aye were Mike Antonovich, Zev Yaroslavsky, Yvonne Burke and Gloria Molina. The sole Supervisor voting against the measure was Don Knabe.

Department staff has 30-60 days to report back to the BOS with draft language. The CRA testified in opposition to the ordinance and stated that, at a minimum, the restaurant industry needs a statewide standard and flexibility in the methods of disclosure. The CRA officially asked the BOS to not move forward with their menu labeling ordinance until the state menu labeling bill is resolved. Nonetheless, the BOS voted to move forward with their ordinance.

The proposed language will be presented to the BOS in mid-September or early October. If passed then, it would most likely become effective in January 2009.

San Mateo

On August 12 the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to adopt a local menu ordinance that would apply to chain restaurants (defined as 15 or more units) and would require them to post nutritional information directly on menus, menu boards and food tags. The ordinance only applies to those units within the unincorporated parts of San Mateo County.

The five Supervisors voting Aye were: Mark Church, Jerry Hill (author), Richard Gordon, Rose Jacobs Gibson (author) and Adrienne Tissier.

The CRA testified in opposition to the measure in addition to engaging in a local grassroots campaign prior to the hearing. The BOS voted to adopt the measure despite strong arguments against it, the pending statewide bill, the CRA’s two lawsuits against other localities for passing similar ordinances and California polling results in favor of the CRA’s position.

The BOS will have to vote on the measure again before it can become law; currently that hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, September 9.