Senate panel rejects food tax legislation

A state Senate committee rejected a proposal Friday to reinstate the tax on food except for a narrow range of healthy staples. The bill also would have drastically limited purchases with federal food assistance to that same selection of groceries — meat, tortillas and anything covered by the federal Women, Infants and Children nutrition program. […]

Senate panel rejects food tax legislation

A state Senate committee rejected a proposal Friday to reinstate the tax on food except for a narrow range of healthy staples.

The bill also would have drastically limited purchases with federal food assistance to that same selection of groceries — meat, tortillas and anything covered by the federal Women, Infants and Children nutrition program.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Cliff Pirtle, argued the measure would provide an incentive for healthier eating in a state where obesity and diabetes are rampant.

But Democrats and a range of advocacy groups argued the measure would be an added burden on families’ grocery budgets.

The Senate Corporations Committee voted 4-2 along party lines to table the bill.

Pirtle, R-Roswell, proposed last year to ban junk food purchases with benefits through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP — often referred to as food stamps.

Democrats shot down the idea, arguing it was unfair to target a health initiative at low-income people.

Pirtle said the latest proposal was a compromise that would promote healthy eating regardless of whether shoppers used SNAP or not, while also ensuring the tax exemption on groceries would not apply to junk food.

“When we think of food, I don’t think many of us think of things that are prepared or processed or high calorie, high sugar,” Pirtle told the Senate Corporations Committee on Friday.

But longtime opponents of the food tax were quick to point out that the WIC program is designed specifically for women who are pregnant or breast-feeding and for very young children rather than for a broader range of dietary needs.

It also excludes plenty of healthy foods and is so specific, critics argued, that navigating the grocery store would become an ordeal for shoppers.

“There is a reason that no other state has ever attempted to tie its food tax exemption to the WIC program. Doing so is simply unworkable,” said Fred Nathan, executive director of Think New Mexico, a policy organization that has long opposed the food tax.

Others pointed out that New Mexico already has a high rate of poverty, making SNAP a lifeline.

And, as Chairman Clemente Sanchez, D-Grants, said: “I just have a problem with people telling people what to do — what to eat, what to drink.”

Roughly 460,000 New Mexicans are enrolled in the food benefit program.

A study published last year by the Harvard School of Public Health found food purchased with SNAP benefits tended to be less healthy than food that was not, suggesting the program was effectively subsidizing unhealthy diets.

And a 2015 study by researchers at Stanford University found a ban on using SNAP to purchase sugar-sweetened beverages could significantly reduce obesity and Type 2 diabetes, particularly among adults.

Dampening such proposals, however, the administration of President Donald Trump last month rejected an effort by the Maine government to prohibit buying junk food with SNAP benefits, citing concerns about additional administrative costs for retailers and the research that such a move would lead to “meaningful health outcomes.”

Contact Andrew Oxford at 505-986-3093 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @andrewboxford.

We're ad free

That means that we rely on support from readers like you. Help us keep reporting on the most important New Mexico Stories by donating today.

Related

Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham pocket vetoed two bills the legislature passed this legislative session: one changing the Cybersecurity Act and the other concerning law…
Gov signs bills with some vetoes 

Gov signs bills with some vetoes 

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed 69 bills that the legislature passed during the 2024 legislative session. These included the General Appropriations Act which contains…
Guv signs state budget

Guv signs state budget

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the budget bill for Fiscal Year 2025 and the Capital Outlay spending bill. The FY25 state budget bill passed…
Advocates travel to D.C. to push for additional protections for the Gila River

Advocates travel to D.C. to push for additional protections for the Gila River

New Mexico advocates seeking to have the Gila River designated as a Wild and Scenic River will travel to Washington D.C. this week to…

NM Supreme Court annuls $10,000 penalty in PNM/Avangrid merger case

The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a penalty the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission levied against the state’s largest utility was…
State fines oil company more than $2 million after spill

State fines oil company more than $2 million after spill

The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department fined an oil and gas company operating in the Permian Basin more than $2 million over produced…
Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican The main things that bring Brayan Chavez to school every day: Seeing, talking to and engaging with…
Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican Brittany Behenna Griffith has a laundry list of adjectives to describe the ideal special education teacher:…
Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican A challenging task awaits New Mexico lawmakers in the next 30 days: Reconciling three very different…
Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Friday $10 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act was awarded to six tribal nations and…
Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee discussed a potential constitutional amendment that seeks to limit the governor’s executive powers. The committee approved…
Supreme Court censures attorney over conduct in anti-COVID policy suits

Supreme Court censures attorney over conduct in anti-COVID policy suits

The New Mexico State Supreme Court censured a New Mexico attorney because of her “misconduct” in two unsuccessful cases pushing back on COVID-19 regulations…
Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Later this month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case against the abortion medication mifepristone. It will hear a second…
How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

President Joe Biden highlighted reproductive rights issues as part of his State of the Union speech Thursday. Biden delivered his 2024 State of the…
Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

U.S. House of Rep. Melanie Stansbury has invited an OB-GYN doctor from Roswell as her guest for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union…
Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Later this month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case against the abortion medication mifepristone. It will hear a second…
How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

President Joe Biden highlighted reproductive rights issues as part of his State of the Union speech Thursday. Biden delivered his 2024 State of the…
Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

U.S. House of Rep. Melanie Stansbury has invited an OB-GYN doctor from Roswell as her guest for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union…
See who’s going to be on your primary ballot in June

See who’s going to be on your primary ballot in June

Tuesday marked the official beginning of the 2024 New Mexico primary season for the legislature, with candidates officially filing for candidacy. This is the…

Bill to require disclosure of use of AI in campaign materials goes to governor

The Senate approved a bill aiming to require the disclosure of the use of artificial intelligence or other changes made by computers to campaign…
House amends, passes bill banning firearms near polling places

House amends, passes bill banning firearms near polling places

The House narrowly approved a bill that would ban firearms near polling places. The House voted 35-34 to pass the bill following an extensive…
Advocates travel to D.C. to push for additional protections for the Gila River

Advocates travel to D.C. to push for additional protections for the Gila River

New Mexico advocates seeking to have the Gila River designated as a Wild and Scenic River will travel to Washington D.C. this week to…
U.S. Supreme Court lets ban on Couy Griffin from holding office stand

U.S. Supreme Court lets ban on Couy Griffin from holding office stand

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a Republican official who was barred from holding office after being convicted for a…
Politics Newsletter: legislative leaders not running for reelection

Politics Newsletter: legislative leaders not running for reelection

Hello fellow political junkies! Candidate filing day has come and gone, and members of House and Senate leadership opted to either not seek reelection…

GET INVOLVED

© 2023 New Mexico Political Report