House panel doesn’t buy ban on school vending sweets

BOISE — Kids, your candy is safe — at least for another year.

The House Education Committee voted Friday against a bill that would have banned vending machines in elementary schools and limited their contents to healthy snacks in the upper grades. Lawmakers said they feared the measure would take control from local school districts and harm schools that rely on revenue from the machines.

“People outside of Boise resent government intrusion,” said Rep. Jack Barraclough, R-Idaho Falls. “I think there’s softer ways of accomplishing the same thing.”

Rep. Margaret Henbest, D-Boise, sponsored the legislation, which would have prohibited vending machines in public elementary schools except in areas off-limits to students, and set out limits on fat, sodium and sugar for the food offered in machines in the upper grades. The bill would also have limited drinks available in vending machines to plain water, low-fat or skim milk, or unsweetened fruit juice.

Twenty-five states are considering similar legislation in the hope of reducing childhood obesity and teaching children healthy eating habits, Henbest told the committee Friday.

“This is only addressing one piece of the problem,” said Henbest, a nurse practitioner. “But it sends a powerful message that we care as policy makers, as leaders, about what our kids are eating.”

That’s a message the committee wanted to send — but not through a new law.

“This is nothing more than a dictate or a mandate,” said Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, who told Henbest the same message could be sent through a House resolution encouraging school districts to adopt healthy eating policies. “I just don’t see a need for this.”

Several people testified in favor of Henbest’s bill. Don Kemper, the chairman and CEO of Boise-based Healthwise, told the committee about his nonprofit organization’s work in providing health information to the public.

“No matter how well we do our job, what we’re doing is being completely overwhelmed by the obesity trend in this country,” he said.

Rep. Mike Mitchell, D-Lewiston, responded to his colleagues’ concerns by listing other areas of life the government regulates, such as motorcycle helmet requirements, cigarette smoking limits, and traffic laws.

“Government somewhere along the line said maybe there are a few things that we can hopefully give some direction — and hopefully save some lives,” Mitchell said.

But many of the panel members told Henbest they were concerned that schools would lose revenue they have been earning from the machines. And many said that while they supported her work in bringing the matter of vending machines to the public’s attention, they felt voting for the bill would overstep the rights of parents and school districts.

“Responsibility starts with the family, and should in these type of issues go no further than the family and local school districts,” said Rep. Pete Nielson, R-Mountain Home.

The lawmakers encouraged Henbest to return with a resolution; Barraclough even urged her to do so in the current session. Henbest said she’d think about it, and will probably return next year with the bill.

Henbest had expected to the measure to pass and was surprised and disappointed by the outcome of the vote. She said parents have told her that as they try to control what their children eat, they’re stymied by the availability of junk food at school.

“Parents are coming to me saying they’re trying to do the right thing. That’s the ultimate local control,” Henbest said. “To ignore that is stunning.”