Jan

26

Childhood Obesity News - New Mexico Wants to Tax TVs and Video Games to Fight Fat - Hollywood Today Newsmagazine

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HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 1/26/08 — A Democratic lawmaker in New Mexico wants to tax televisions and video games to raise funds to fight childhood obesity and improve education in the state, officials said Friday. According to newsletter LBN Alert, the bill, introduced by state legislator Gail Chesey, is backed by grassroots environmental group, the Sierra Club, “The bill proposes levying a one-percent excise tax on the purchase of TVs, video games and video game equipment and would create the ‘Leave No Child Inside’ fund to receive those revenues,” said Michael Casaus of the Sierra Club. The author and sponsors of the bill, who include dozens of other organizations besides the Sierra Club, according to Casaus, expect to raise four million dollars a year through the tax. According to a study cited by backers of the bill, hands-on, outdoor study leads to better grades among students, including in mathematics and science. Read Childhood Obesity

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