ANNAPOLIS Md. Doyle Niemann, a delegate in the Maryland General Assembly, agreed Thursday to withdraw his menu-labeling bill after it failed to draw much support from lawmakers. The Restaurant Association of Maryland, which actively opposed the measure, praised Niemann’s decision, calling the bill “misguided.”
The measure, H.B. 601, would have required fast-food restaurants with 15 or more outlets nationwide to post caloric content on their menu boards. It also would have mandated that full-service chains with 15 or more locations post calories, saturated and trans fat, carbohydrates and sodium content on menus.
"With the help of our membership, we conveyed industry concerns to lawmakers early in the legislative process," Melvin Thompson, RAM's senior vice president of government relations, said in a statement. "By the time the bill was scheduled for a committee hearing, we had managed to significantly weaken support for the measure."
RAM's leadership has come out in support of the Labeling Education and Nutrition, or LEAN, Act, currently in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. Passage of this measure would supersede a patchwork of state and local regulations and would allow operators flexibility in how they posted nutrition information in their restaurants, the association said.
Contact Paul Frumkin at [email protected].
