To: Mayor Ed Lee

San Francisco Coalition Urges Mayor Ed Lee to Honor SSB Tax Guidelines

Honorable Mayor Lee,

Inspired by their shared concern about the negative health impacts that sugar-sweetened beverages have in communities across San Francisco, over 62% of voting residents united in November 2016 to pass Local Measure V, the Sugary Drinks Distributor Tax.

I supported and promoted the Local Measure V leading up to the 2016 election, and I'm uniting again with other supporters to reiterate my commitment to seeing the spirit and intention of the Sugary Drinks Distributor Tax honored throughout the budget planning process.

We urge you Mayor Ed Lee to honor your commitment to the San Francisco community by entrusting the recommendation and allocation of these new generated tax funds to happen only through the advisory committee, which has yet to be seated. It is critical that the funds from this tax go towards programs to prevent obesity, diabetes, tooth decay and heart disease amongst our most vulnerable populations. Recommendations for these funds must happen by and through the 16 member advisory committee. We urge the Mayor to sequester the funds from January-June 2018 to allow the advisory committee to make its recommendations.

We look forward to partnering with you to ensure that proceeds from the Sugary Drinks Distributor Tax are, after sincere consideration of the recommendations put forth by Advisory Committee, awarded to projects that address the reasons for which the tax is collected.

Why is this important?

Sugar-sweetened beverages are the main source of added sugar in our diet. It is critical that the funds from San Francisco's Sugary Drinks Distributor Tax go towards programs to prevent obesity, diabetes, tooth decay, and heart disease amongst the city's most vulnerable populations. Recommendations for these funds must happen by and through the 16 member advisory committee. We urge the Mayor to sequester the funds from January-June 2018 to allow the advisory committee to make its recommendations.