Obese of the State, Unite!
Mississippi Representatives Bobby Shows of Ellisville, John Read of Gautier, and W.T. Mayhall of Southaven have proposed House Bill 282 in the 2008 Mississippi Legislature that if passed would significantly impact the daily lives of most Mississippians.
The bill (which won't pass) would prohibit food establishments from serving food to anyone who is obese based upon Mississippi Department of Health criteria. The Department of Health would be required to monitor food establishments for compliance and may revoke permits for violations.
The text of the bill is as follows:
HOUSE BILL NO. 282
AN ACT TO PROHIBIT CERTAIN FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS FROM SERVING FOOD TO ANY PERSON WHO IS OBESE, BASED ON CRITERIA PRESCRIBED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH; TO DIRECT THE DEPARTMENT TO PREPARE WRITTEN MATERIALS THAT DESCRIBE AND EXPLAIN THE CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING WHETHER A PERSON IS OBESE AND TO PROVIDE THOSE MATERIALS TO THE FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS; TO DIRECT THE DEPARTMENT TO MONITOR THE FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1.
(1) The provisions of this section shall apply to any food establishment that is required to obtain a permit from the State Department of Health under Section 41-3-15(4)(f), that operates
primarily in an enclosed facility and that has five (5) or more seats for customers.
(2) Any food establishment to which this section applies shall not be allowed to serve food to any person who is obese, based on criteria prescribed by the State Department of Health after consultation with the Mississippi Council on Obesity Prevention and Management established under Section 41-101-1 or its successor. The State Department of Health shall prepare written materials that describe and explain the criteria for determining whether a person is obese, and shall provide those materials to all food establishments to which this section applies. A food establishment shall be entitled to rely on the criteria for obesity in those written materials when determining whether or not it is allowed to serve food to any person.
(3) The State Department of Health shall monitor the food establishments to which this section applies for compliance with the provisions of this section, and may revoke the permit of any food establishment that repeatedly violates the provisions of this section.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2008.
The bill (which won't pass) would prohibit food establishments from serving food to anyone who is obese based upon Mississippi Department of Health criteria. The Department of Health would be required to monitor food establishments for compliance and may revoke permits for violations.
The text of the bill is as follows:
HOUSE BILL NO. 282
AN ACT TO PROHIBIT CERTAIN FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS FROM SERVING FOOD TO ANY PERSON WHO IS OBESE, BASED ON CRITERIA PRESCRIBED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH; TO DIRECT THE DEPARTMENT TO PREPARE WRITTEN MATERIALS THAT DESCRIBE AND EXPLAIN THE CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING WHETHER A PERSON IS OBESE AND TO PROVIDE THOSE MATERIALS TO THE FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS; TO DIRECT THE DEPARTMENT TO MONITOR THE FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1.
(1) The provisions of this section shall apply to any food establishment that is required to obtain a permit from the State Department of Health under Section 41-3-15(4)(f), that operates
primarily in an enclosed facility and that has five (5) or more seats for customers.
(2) Any food establishment to which this section applies shall not be allowed to serve food to any person who is obese, based on criteria prescribed by the State Department of Health after consultation with the Mississippi Council on Obesity Prevention and Management established under Section 41-101-1 or its successor. The State Department of Health shall prepare written materials that describe and explain the criteria for determining whether a person is obese, and shall provide those materials to all food establishments to which this section applies. A food establishment shall be entitled to rely on the criteria for obesity in those written materials when determining whether or not it is allowed to serve food to any person.
(3) The State Department of Health shall monitor the food establishments to which this section applies for compliance with the provisions of this section, and may revoke the permit of any food establishment that repeatedly violates the provisions of this section.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2008.
Labels: Mississippi legislature
posted by Matt Friedeman at
9:17 AM
6 Comments:
Stop, you are making me hungry.
The next thing you know, they are going to start making businesses be smoke-free whether the owner or patrons want it the other way or not.
larry: You can't possibly be suggesting that banning smoking in buildings is the same thing as refusing to serve someone based on their physical appearance. Whether or not one believes that the obese became obese by their own choices or not, banning them from restaurants is not much different than banning people because of their race. After all, African Americans have a higher rate of heart disease and high blood pressure than whites, so maybe Mississippi should ban Blacks from restaurants. Oh, they already went that route...
No, I was not saying the two are the same. I was just pointing out how ridiculous our governing bodies have become. They think they can legislate everything all the way down to "your" good health. We have less freedom each time they pass more legislation.
"I was just pointing out how ridiculous our governing bodies have become. They think they can legislate everything all the way down to "your" good health"
Kinda like Prohibition...
"Kinda like Prohibition..."
That's different Jack. That's Christians telling you how to live your life and unlike government, Christians are ALWAYS right.
They have God on thei side!
Larry, I think this idea is just as silly as the government using fighting terrorism as a means to read my emails and listen to my phone calls. As silly as being in wars without a declaration of Congress. Some of these out of control actions seem to be ok with a lot of you.
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