NASHVILLE – Senators today voted 24-7 to override Gov. Phil Bredesen’s veto of a bill that blocked local health boards from requiring restaurants to post food nutrition information.
Rep. Susan Lynn, R-Mount Juliet, who sponsored the House bill blocking local health boards from acting, said she hopes for a veto override vote next week.
Senate Minority Leader Jim Kyle, D-Memphis, a gubernatorial candidate, defended Gov. Bredesen’s veto.
“This isn’t about menus. This isn’t about food. This isn’t about health. This is about respecting elected local officials making the decision in their community for their constituents,” Sen. Kyle said.
He said he found it “amazing that those who have railed at the federal government about pre-empting state government would come and support pre-empting local government.”
But Sen. Diane Black, R-Gallatin, a congressional candidate handling the bill, said the law would prevent a patchwork of requirements across the state.
She also said the measure was aimed at health boards. Local elected officials would be free to pass such regulations, she said.
In vetoing the bill last spring, Gov. Bredesen called menu labeling a “common-sense” tool in the fight against obesity.
The restaurant industry brought the bill to lawmakers after Davidson County’s Metro Board of Health decided last year to require restaurants to post nutritional information about their food.