Governor Hobbs Vetoes Arizona Bill to Ban Soda Purchases with Food Stamps
In a ruling that’s fueling outrage nationwide, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed legislation that will make it illegal to buy soda using food stamps. The controversial bill, HB2165, was signed into law by the Republican-controlled Legislature but reached a dead end on the governor’s desk on April 15.
The purpose of the bill, to its proponents, was to make more people consume healthy food and lower the quantity of sweet drinks poor citizens consume. Governor Hobbs saw it differently, though. While she was fine with the fact that the bill was being motivated by a good cause i.e., healthier citizens she made it abundantly clear that taking food away from people who reside on welfare programs was not the solution.
This bill unfairly takes away the shoppers’ purchasing power of the SNAP recipients and creates a new grocery store underclass,” Hobbs wrote in her veto message.
As someone who herself in the past had to subsist on food stamps, the governor’s stance is personal in nature. She seethed at the restriction of restricting what SNAP recipients can buy, opting instead to empower them by allowing them greater access to fresh produce.
A Closer Look at HB2165
The bill, sponsored by Republican Rep. Leo Biasiucci of Lake Havasu City, would make Arizona the first state in the nation to officially ask the U.S. Department of Agriculture to grant approval to prohibit soda from the list of products that can be bought with SNAP benefits.
Biasiucci clarified that because soda is not nutritional, it was not on the table to be included in a program that would deliver relief nutritionally. He used statistics that indicate sweet beverages are responsible for around 10% of food stamp allocations thus a target full of potential to be struck by reform.
“If we’re going to get people healthier seriously, then we have to start somewhere,” said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the new head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, during a recent press conference with Arizona legislators who are supporting the bill.
Kennedy, an outspoken advocate for food reform, didn’t shy away from stating that soda bans are just the beginning. “Believe me, I’d like to stop the entire processed food program. But we’re not going to do that overnight,” he said.
The Partisan Divide
The ban on soda was hugely partisan, highly controversial legislation. Republicans loved it as a step towards eliminating obesity and diabetes among poor communities. Democrats were battling it as a whole in terms of being racist and paternalistic.
Phoenix Democrat Sen. Analise Ortiz wasn’t mincing words in denouncing the backlash unless HB2165 is just the beginning of legislative measures to control Arizona residents most vulnerable.
She cautioned that if soda is removed from the list, candy, cakes, or snack foods will soon follow on the chopping block. She outlined how the original version of the bill also attempted to prohibit sweets, before lawmakers were confronted with issues of law such as how to make the distinction between a sugar-containing protein bar and an ordinary candy bar before backtracking.
I think safely HB2165 is only the tip of the iceberg,” Ortiz said. “Future bills might target other foods people eat.
Mixed Messages from Arizona Leadership
Ironically, in vetoing the ban on soda, Governor Hobbs signed into law the day before another health bill. The bill prohibits some artificial coloring and chemical additives used in food served in schools, including vending machine food. The bill was bipartisan and was passed unanimously.
The difference? One bill, Hobbs said, would limit food options for kids in a setting where control is all that matters like school, and the other would control adults’ freedom that were subsidized by the state.
That is the debate about how far a line policymakers tread in bringing in nutrition policy and particularly for vulnerable groups. It is one easy thing to place healthy food on school menus. It is a very different matter to dictate to people what they can and cannot place in their shopping basket.
What’s Next?
While Governor Hobbs’ veto puts HB2165 on the backburner for the time being, the backlash is far from disappearing. Rather, it appears to be headed federal.
USDA Administrator Brooke Rollins, recently sworn in, has said she’d prefer to examine and perhaps overhaul what can be purchased with SNAP dollars. She’s even expressed a willingness to collaborate with Kennedy to proceed with reforms that would involve banning soda.
And if that were the case, that fight starting in Arizona would be able to be scaled up into a big federal conversation regarding nutrition, poverty, and food justice in America.
A National Conversation Brewing
The bigger issue today is: Who informs people what they eat after it’s subsidized by government programs? Supporters of soda ban, they argue it’s a public health and common sense issue. It’s a slippery slope to singling out an individual and informing them their choice in the guise of health for others, they argue.
The veto by Governor Hobbs suggests the value of careful, sensible solutions. Promoting better food with inducements and knowledge may be more effective and ethical than prohibition.
As America grapples with rising obesity, diabetes, and hunger rates, the battle over food stamps and soda will only escalate. Arizona slowed, but national center stage is now set for what may be an historic struggle over the next chapter in American food policy.