California has banned cities and counties within the state from imposing new soda taxes for more than a decade.
The bill to ban soda taxes, AB 1838, was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on June 28 and immediately prohibits local governments from adding a tax or fee on groceries until January 1, 2031. While the bill prohibits new soda taxes, it will not apply to California cities with existing sugary drink taxes, such as Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco.
The measure was backed by the American Beverage Association, which represents large sugary drink manufacturers, including Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. After the legislation was passed, business groups pulled a separate bill that would have made it harder for cities to impose any type of new tax.
