Last month, voters in Berkeley made the city the first in the country to pass a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. On Monday, the city moved forward on implementing one of the requirements of the measure, staffing its "panel of experts."
Berkeley is soliciting applications for people to serve on this panel, which will advise the City Council on "how and to what extent the City should establish and/or fund programs to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in Berkeley."
In other words, the panel will advise the council on how to spend the soda tax revenue. Measure D, the initiative which established the tax, requires that panel representatives be "composed of experts in the areas of public health, child nutrition, nutrition education, and food access programs."
The entire City Council will review all applications. By the end of February, each City Council member will appoint one representative for the panel.
Voters in Berkeley approved the tax with 75 percent of the vote. It levies a penny-per-ounce tax on most sugar-sweetened beverages. The measure requires that it take effect Jan. 1.