Existing law, the California Retail Food Code, establishes uniform health and sanitation standards for, and provides for regulation by the State Department of Public Health of, retail food facilities, as defined, and requires local enforcement agencies to enforce these provisions. Existing law requires a restaurant that sells a children's meal that includes a beverage to make the default beverage water, sparkling water, or flavored water, as specified, or unflavored milk or a nondairy milk alternative, as specified. A violation of the code's provisions related to children's meals is an infraction.
This bill would require a chain restaurant, as defined, that sells a children's meal to offer at least one children's meal that meets specified minimum nutrition standards, including, among others, that the meal not contain more than 550 calories and that the meal include at least 2 servings of specified types and quantities of food. The bill would require a chain restaurant that sells a children's meal, on or before July 1, 2026, to train its employees on how to comply with those requirements. The bill would require a chain restaurant that sells a children's meal to offer ongoing training on those requirements to new employees. The bill would require a local enforcement agency, on or before April 1, 2026, to provide written notice of these provisions to chain restaurants in its jurisdiction that sell a children's meal.
By imposing additional duties on local enforcement agencies and by creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Statutes affected:
SB 764: 114379.10 HSC
02/21/25 - Introduced: 114379.10 HSC