Oregon and Connecticut in early June joined the growing list of states embracing menu-labeling mandates, steadily adding to the patchwork of laws that restaurant association officials have been trying to prevent for the past several years.
Lawmakers in both Maine’s House and Senate also approved a statewide menu-labeling measure in June, although further action from both chambers is awaited.
The Massachusetts Public Health Council passed statewide menu-labeling regulations in May.
“It’s like a wave passed through New England,” said Dick Grotton, president and chief executive of the Maine Restaurant Association. “We’ve seen action in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine all in a short period of time.
“We’re very disappointed,” he continued. “We expect its impact here to be pretty significant. We have about 500 restaurants in Maine that will be affected, and [this measure] will create serious competitive disadvantages. It’s all part of a very frustrating anti-business climate. Lawmakers need to take a class in Business 101. They need to learn how business works.”
In Salem, Ore., a bill requiring chain restaurants throughout the state to post calorie counts on menus, menu boards and drive-thru signage beginning in 2011 won a 21-7 vote of approval by the Senate. The measure at press time was expected to go to Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s desk within two weeks, and he was expected to sign it into law.
The legislation, House Bill 2726, also requires restaurant companies with 15 or more outlets nationwide to make available to consumers on request written information about the typical value of carbohydrates, saturated fat, trans fat and sodium associated with menu items beginning Jan. 1, 2010. Violators would face fines of up to $1,000.
The Oregon Restaurant Association dropped its opposition to the bill when it was amended to preempt all local labeling regulations, including those in Multnomah County, where a menu-labeling mandate was adopted last year.
The statewide bill is very similar to that of Multnomah County, which includes the city of Portland. The county bill went into effect March 12, although restaurant operators have until the end of the year to comply. If the state bill is signed into law, Multnomah County operators will have another year to comply with the calorie postings.
A menu-labeling bill in Connecticut saw final approval in the House of Representatives June 8, reportedly with an 89-60 vote. That bill would also require restaurant chains with 15 or more units to post calorie counts on menus and menu boards, including drive-thrus, starting in July 2010.
According to The Hartford Courant, Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell has not indicated whether she would sign the bill.
In Maine, the measure under consideration would require chains with 20 or more units nationwide to disclose calorie counts on menu boards, menus and at drive-thrus. The measure, expected to be signed by Maine Gov. John Baldacci, is currently on the table in the state Senate, awaiting discussion on two amendments, one of which would allow the state measure to supersede local ordinances.
While the MRA opposes the state measure, Grotton said it supports the Labeling Education and Nutrition, or LEAN, Act, at the federal level. The LEAN Act would mandate more flexibility in the posting of nutritional information at some chain restaurants and supercede the many mandates already in effect. It would also give legal protection to restaurants that comply with the act.
If the governors of Oregon, Connecticut and Maine sign their respective mandates into law, their states will join California and Massachusetts on the growing list of states where statewide menu-labeling laws have passed.
Other states considering menu-labeling legislation include Oklahoma, Indiana, Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, Minnesota, New York and South Carolina.
New York City last year became the first jurisdiction to enforce a calorie-posting rule at chain restaurants with 15 or more locations. Westchester County in New York, King County in Washington, and Philadelphia also have adopted nutrition disclosure regulations.
In addition, federal lawmakers have introduced two versions of a menu-labeling requirement at the national level.
Bill Perry, vice president of government affairs for the Oregon Restaurant Association, expressed optimism that federal legislation requiring menu labeling would be adopted this year and that it would override the varying state-level mandates.
“I don’t believe [nutrition disclosure] is going to change consumer behavior,” he said. “But for it to be useful to consumers, there has to be a uniform standard” that would apply the same way across jurisdictions.— [email protected]