San Francisco lawmakers put 2-cent-per-ounce soda tax on ballot, prepare for industry fight

San Francisco voters will be asked this fall to approve a 2-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks sold in the city.

The Board of Supervisors voted 6-4 on Tuesday to put the tax on sodas, sports drinks and other beverages sweetened with sugar on the November ballot. It would have to be approved by two-thirds of the city's voters to take effect.

City officials have estimated the measure would raise somewhere between $31 million and $52 million a year. The proceeds would go toward nutrition, health, disease prevention, recreation and school physical education programs.

The tax would be imposed on beverage distributors.

Lawmakers in Berkeley voted earlier this month to put a measure on the local ballot that would impose a penny-per-ounce tax on beverages sweetened with sugar.