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S00428 Summary:

S00428 Actions:

S00428 Committee Votes:

S00428 Floor Votes:

S00428 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         428--A
 
                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                       (Prefiled)
 
                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sens.  RIVERA, JACKSON, KAVANAGH, LIU, SEPULVEDA -- read
          twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to  the
          Committee  on  Health  --  recommitted  to  the Committee on Health in
          accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 --  committee  discharged,  bill
          amended,  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
          tee
 
        AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation  to  requiring  chain
          restaurants to label menu items that have a high content of sodium
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding  a  new  section
     2  1358 to read as follows:
     3    §  1358.  Chain  restaurants;  sodium content of menu items. 1.  Defi-
     4  nitions. For purposes of this section the following terms shall have the
     5  following meanings:
     6    a.  "Chain menu developer" means the person that owns and licenses the
     7  brand name under which a chain restaurant does business,  or  any  other
     8  person  responsible  for  determining  the  formula  or recipe for items
     9  displayed on the menu of a chain restaurant.
    10    b. "Chain restaurant" means a food service establishment,  as  defined
    11  in part fourteen of the New York sanitary code 10 NYCRR 14-1.20, that is
    12  part  of  a  chain with fifteen or more locations within the state doing
    13  business under the same name, regardless of the type of ownership of the
    14  locations, and offering for sale substantially similar menu items.
    15    c. "Daily value" means the daily reference value used  by  the  United
    16  States  Food  and  Drug  Administration in calculating the percent daily
    17  value for nutrition information provided on food labels.
    18    d. "Menu or menu board" means the primary writing of  a  food  service
    19  establishment from which a customer makes an order selection, including,
    20  but  not  limited to, breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus; dessert menus;
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01666-03-6
        S. 428--A                           2
 
     1  beverage menus; children's  menus;  other  specialty  menus;  electronic
     2  menus; and menus on the internet.
     3    e. "Standard menu item" means a food or beverage item offered for sale
     4  by  a chain restaurant that is listed on a menu or menu board, including
     5  a variable food or beverage item that comes in different flavors, varie-
     6  ties, or combinations and is listed as a single  item.    Standard  menu
     7  item  includes any combination meal for which any combination of food or
     8  beverage items available to the consumer exceeds  the  daily  value  for
     9  sodium.  Standard  menu  item includes temporary menu items appearing on
    10  the menu for less than a total of sixty consecutive and  non-consecutive
    11  days per calendar year.
    12    2.  Industry guidance. No later than one year after the effective date
    13  of this section, the department shall publish  guidance  explaining  the
    14  requirements of this section and how businesses can comply.
    15    3.    Sodium  warning icon. No later than one year after the effective
    16  date of this section, the department shall develop an icon with accompa-
    17  nying text that shall be displayed adjacent to the name of any  standard
    18  menu  item  that exceeds the daily value for sodium. Beginning two years
    19  after the effective date of this section any chain restaurant  operating
    20  within  the  state and not otherwise exempted under subdivision seven of
    21  this section shall display on menus or menu boards:
    22    a.  The sodium warning icon and accompanying text promulgated  by  the
    23  department pursuant to this subdivision, at a height no smaller than the
    24  largest letter in the name of the item; and
    25    b. The following factual statement explaining the sodium warning icon:
    26  "Warning  (insert  icon image and accompanying text here) indicates that
    27  the sodium (salt) content of this item is higher than  the  total  daily
    28  recommended limit (2300 mg). High sodium intake can increase blood pres-
    29  sure and the risk of heart disease and stroke."
    30    4.    Chain  menu  developer  reporting requirement. Once every ninety
    31  days, each chain menu developer  shall  report  to  the  department  the
    32  amount  of  sodium  in each standard menu item offered for sale in their
    33  chain restaurant, or that no changes to the menu information  have  been
    34  made since the last report.
    35    5.   Report required. No later than six years after the effective date
    36  of this section, the department shall issue a report reviewing  evidence
    37  of  the  impact  of this section on menu item reformulation and consumer
    38  behavior, and recommend additional nutrients that should  be  considered
    39  for menu warning icons.
    40    6.  Violations.   Any chain restaurant that violates the provisions of
    41  this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not  more  than  two
    42  hundred fifty dollars per day for each location not in compliance.
    43    7.  Exemptions.  The sodium warning icon required pursuant to subdivi-
    44  sion three of this section shall not be required to be displayed next to
    45  a menu item that is already labeled with a sodium icon equal or  greater
    46  in  size  and  similar in general appearance, when such icon is required
    47  pursuant to a rule, regulation, ordinance, local law,  order  or  policy
    48  issued  by another jurisdiction having the same or substantially similar
    49  effect as determined by the commissioner.  Food  service  establishments
    50  exempted  from  the sodium warning labeling requirement by this subdivi-
    51  sion shall be used in determining if a particular  food  service  estab-
    52  lishment is a chain restaurant.
    53    § 2. Severability. If any provision of this act, or any application of
    54  any provision of this act, is held to be invalid, or to  violate  or  be
    55  inconsistent  with  any federal law or regulation, that shall not affect
    56  the validity or effectiveness of any other provision of this act, or  of
        S. 428--A                           3
 
     1  any  other  application of any provision of this act, which can be given
     2  effect without that provision or  application;  and  to  that  end,  the
     3  provisions and applications of this act are severable.
     4    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.