Tighten Your Belt, Gov. Vetoes Menu Bill
By JEFF STOECKER
Updated 6:45 AM EST, Mon, Jul 6, 2009
The so-called menu-labeling bill had a little too much fat for the governor to swallow, so she vetoed the legislation.
The bill would have required chain restaurants to post calorie counts for regular menu items.
"Does it come as a surprise to anyone that a vegetable salad is healthier and more nutritious than a bacon cheeseburger?" Gov. M. Jodi Rell asked in a news release issued Thursday afternoon. "This is hardly the economic climate in which to further burden our businesses and state agencies."
The state Department of Public Health would have been charged with enforcing the measure, Rell said.
That was one of seven bills that didn't make it across her desk. She did not sign them because the state and taxpayers can't afford it now, even if some bills may have merit, she said.
Democrats are firing back, saying the governor is vetoing legislation that helps Connecticut residents and families.
Sen. Jonathan Harris, D-West Hartford, was a proponent of the bill and said he was disappointed by the veto. He disagreed with the governor’s statement that menu choices are common sense and said “fast-food consumers and even professional dieticians consistently underestimate the number of calories in various fast-food menu items.”
“I agree with the governor that personal responsibility plays a role in healthy eating choices,” Harris said. “But the key to personal responsibility is to have the information you need to make the right decisions. The bill that she vetoed today would have provided that information.”
A similar menu bill is pending on the federal level.
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro has been working on the federal legislation that would require chain restaurants with 20 or more business locations to provide consumers with information on calories, sodium, saturated and trans fat and carbohydrates.
“Given the new study showing rising obesity rates across the country, it is extremely disappointing and irresponsible that Governor Rell would veto such a critical bill that would have provided consumers with important nutrition information at restaurants,” DeLauro said.
“Healthy lifestyles and good eating habits are personal decisions and commitments,” Rell said in the release.
Rell also vetoed bills that would have created a 14-member panel bi-state Long Island Sound Commission, standard wage act for certain Connecticut workers, a subcommittee to study inmate assaults on correction officers and how they are reported, a wellness programs and expansion of health insurance coverage bill, a green jobs bill and a DOT programs and activities bill.
It’s unclear if Democrats will attempt to override any of the vetoes later this month.
First Published: Jul 3, 2009 6:35 AM EST
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