Bill requiring chain restaurants to reveal calories advances

CARSON CITY — A bill requiring many chain restaurants in Nevada to post calorie information on their menus won approval from an Assembly committee Wednesday.

But Assembly Bill 126 was amended to encompass chains with 15 locations or more instead of 10 as originally proposed. And violations were changed to administrative rather than criminal penalties.

The vote in the Assembly Health and Human Services Committee saw four Republicans oppose the bill, which will go to the full Assembly.

New federal rules are being developed that will require retail food establishments with 20 or more locations to post calorie information on their menus and menu boards, including at drive-through lanes.

But Assemblywoman Lucy Flores, D-Las Vegas, said in earlier testimony she wanted Nevada to require the calorie information to be posted sooner rather than later and cover more restaurant chains.

Assemblyman Wes Duncan, R-Las Vegas, said he was opposed to the bill because the federal regulations implementing the posting requirements are not even adopted yet.

The goal of the reporting is to get people to make healthier choices as a way to battle the nation’s obesity epidemic.

Contact Capital Bureau reporter Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900.