Jake Henshaw
The Desert Sun
April 13, 2007

The state may enact a ban on trans fat in food before studying it, if initial votes in the Legislature are any indication.

The Assembly Health Committee this week rejected a bill by Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, to study such a ban, at least in part because the panel previously had approved a measure to outlaw use of the health-endangering oils in restaurants and schools.

''I think attacking a problem without looking at all its parts really does us no justice in the state of California,'' Garcia told the committee.

But Assemblywoman Patty Berg, D-Eureka, a committee member, opposed Garcia's bill, saying that she's already supporting two bills to ban trans fats.

''I think putting a study bill as well as two ban bills in front of the governor allows for a veto on the other two and maybe the passage of a study,'' Berg said.

Originally, Assembly Bill 93 by Garcia would have banned trans fat in schools and restaurants. But she amended it to conduct a study on the cost of such a switch, availability of alternatives and the effect of such a ban on the state's health care system.

AB 97 by Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia, which would ban trans fat in foods sold in restaurants and schools, passed the Assembly Health Committee and is pending in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

A legislative analysis said it could cost between $25 million and $80 million to implement AB 97 in schools. The analysis also said there are unknown but potentially significance savings in health care costs.

AB 86 by Assemblyman Ted Liu, D-Torrance, to ban trans fats in schools is pending in the Assembly Education Committee.

Garcia's bill could be reconsidered, but a staff member said she might also request state researchers to conduct a study without legislation.

Trans fats are partially hydrogenated oils that give products a longer shelf life but also are linked to increased chances of heart disease.