SB-869 • 2026

Restaurant menus: added sugar warnings.

Crime Education

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Weber Pierson
Last action: 2026-04-20
Official status: April 20 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on the consequences of non-compliance or enforcement mechanisms, leaving these aspects uncertain.

Restaurant Menus: Added Sugar Warnings

This law requires chain restaurants in California to display an added sugar warning icon next to certain drinks with high added sugar content on their menus by January 1, 2028.

What This Bill Does

Requires chain restaurants to show an added sugar warning icon next to certain drinks with high added sugar content on their menus by January 1, 2028.
Chain restaurants must also display a clear statement explaining what the added sugar icon means at the point of selection.

Who It Names or Affects

Chain restaurants that offer standard menu beverage items with high added sugar content.
Local health agencies responsible for enforcing these new requirements.

Terms To Know

chain restaurant: A restaurant that is part of a larger group or company with multiple locations.
high added sugar content: Drinks that contain a lot of extra sugar, not naturally occurring in the ingredients themselves.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what happens if chain restaurants do not follow these new rules.
It is unclear how local health agencies will enforce this law and ensure compliance by chain restaurants.

Bill History

2026-04-20 California Legislative Information
April 20 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
2026-04-14 California Legislative Information
Set for hearing April 20.
2026-04-13 California Legislative Information
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
2026-04-09 California Legislative Information
From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (April 8).
2026-03-26 California Legislative Information
Set for hearing April 8.
2026-03-25 California Legislative Information
Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.
2026-03-18 California Legislative Information
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.
2026-02-11 California Legislative Information
Referred to Com. on RLS.
2026-01-06 California Legislative Information
From printer. May be acted upon on or after February 5.
2026-01-05 California Legislative Information
Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Official Summary Text

SB 869, as amended, Weber Pierson.
Restaurant menus: added sugar warnings.
Existing law, the California Retail Food Code, establishes uniform health and sanitation standards for, and provides for regulation by the State Department of Public Health of, retail food facilities, and requires local health agencies to enforce those provisions. Existing law makes a person who violates a provision of the code guilty of a misdemeanor. Existing law requires certain food facilities to provide written notification of the major food allergens that the food facility knows or reasonably should know are contained as an ingredient in each menu item, either directly on its menu or in a digital format, as specified.
This bill, on or before January 1, 2028, would require a chain restaurant offering a standard menu beverage item with high added sugar content, as defined, to display on its menus an added sugar icon immediately adjacent to
each standard menu beverage item with high added sugar content, as specified. The bill would require those chain restaurants to display at the point of selection a specified factual warning statement explaining the added sugar icon. By expanding the scope of an existing crime and by imposing new duties on local health officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by
the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Download Bill PDF