‘For Our Kids Act’ draws wide testimony as lawmakers consider statewide sweetened‑beverage excise to fund school meals and childcare

Delegate Emily Shetty, sponsor of House Bill 14‑69 known as the For Our Kids Act, told the House Ways and Means Committee that the bill is “a public health bill. It will decrease consumption of sweetened beverages while investing in universal school meals for children, boosting our childcare scholarship program, and making a sizable dent in our structural budget deficit.”

Shetty framed the bill as an excise on distributors of beverages sweetened with sugar or non‑nutritive sweeteners, and described proposed revenue uses: an estimated $189 million to expand Healthy School Meals for All; $50 million to the Child Care Scholarship program; and the balance to the general fund (the fiscal estimate cited $500 million in annual revenue). She also referenced an amendment proposed by advocates to dedicate $15 million to the Health Equity Resource Community fund.

Evidence and expert witnesses: Public‑health representatives and academics presented evidence from other jurisdictions. Marissa Waxman, who worked on Philadelphia’s beverage tax, said the city’s 2017 tax generated roughly $70–78 million annually after initial shifts in consumption and funded pre‑K and…