.jpg)
By Sean Whaley | Nevada News Bureau
A Nevada lawmaker is taking aim at fast food in an attempt to stem the tide of obesity.
CARSON CITY – Assemblyman Harvey Munford says he will try again with a bill in the 2013 session to impose a fee on some items sold at fast-food restaurants in an effort to help combat the national obesity epidemic.
Munford’s proposal, which he said may be expanded to include “junk food” type items sold in other food establishments as well, is one of 144 bill draft requests listed on the Nevada Legislature’s website.
Munford, D-Las Vegas, on Monday said his idea is to increase the cost of fast-food items in an effort to get people to choose healthier foods. Money raised from the fee would be directed at programs to combat obesity, he said.
“Not that we were going to deny anybody the opportunity to purchase those things,” he said. “But we just want to put a little tax on it just to make them conscious that it would be a little more expensive than it normally would be.”
