Lawmakers look to head off bans on freebies at restaurants (& coupons and vouchers)

[The Straight Story]

Lawmakers look to head off bans on freebies at restaurants

(AZ) State lawmakers want to make sure that Happy Meals remain, well, happy.

On a split vote, the House Commerce Committee on Wednesday voted to block local governments from imposing any restrictions on the kind of giveaways now offered by many restaurants. That would range from toys and trading cards to crayons and placemats.

Steve Chucri, president of the Arizona Restaurant Association, said no Arizona community has moved to ban these items — at least not yet. But Chucri said members of his industry are paying attention to what is happening elsewhere.

Most notably, the San Francisco board of supervisors voted last year to forbid restaurants from offering toys with meals if they had more than a set limit of calories and fat. That same ordinance also says that restaurants that do provide toys would also need to include fruits and vegetables with those meals.

And Chucri said Nebraska is weighing whether to ban coupons and vouchers.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/arizona/politics/article_eab11042-3a09-11e0-b785-001cc4c03286.html