(Texas Scorecard) – State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst overviewed legislation hitting committee this week that would bring President Donald Trump’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative to Texas.
The Brenham Republican was joined by a slate of lawmakers, including State Sens. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston) and Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola), at a Tuesday press conference on Senate Bill 25 and other legislation.
Last week, Kolkhorst filed SB 25, which Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tagged as a top priority this session. The measure would support increased physical activity for students, improve nutritional education, and require warning labels on certain foods.
SB 25 would also establish a seven-member Texas Nutrition Advisory Committee to develop nutritional guidelines for Texans after examining the impact of nutrition on health and reviewing studies on ultra-processed foods.
The measure was referred to the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, which Kolhorst chairs, shortly after it was filed. On Wednesday, the committee will hold its first hearing of the session, during which SB 25 will be considered.
Kolkhorst divided SB 25 into four distinct pillars at the press conference.
Pillar 1: “Get moving. That is PE [physical education] requirements that are expanded for our children, getting them moving. … We need kids out there moving [and] absorbing Vitamin D as well. Right?”
Pillar 2: “Nutrition curriculum. … We’re not teaching good nutrition to our medical students. … What we’re going to do is we’re going to require that of medical students, residents, and continuing medical education for all Texas physicians.”
Pillar 3: “The Texas Nutrition Advisory Committee. It is to examine the scientific link between ultra-processed foods and chronic diseases and make recommendations. And those recommendations will then guide some of our food pillars.”
Pillar 4: “Food labels. This is where we inform the public on what’s in your foods and why … that matter[s]. If an ingredient is not permitted in most of Western civilization, but [is] in the United States, you’re going to have to put a label on it.”
Members of the Texas Nutrition Advisory Committee would be appointed by the governor.
The committee must include at least one expert in metabolic health, one licensed physician in functional medicine, one representative from the Texas Department of Agriculture, and one representative each from a rural and urban community.
Committee members would be prohibited from holding any financial interest in a business entity that manufactures or sells ultra-processed foods. They also cannot accept gifts from these entities or be employed by them.
Members are tasked with submitting an annual report examining the impact of nutrition on human health, providing an independent review of scientific studies analyzing the effects of ultra-processed foods under the measure.
In addition to the new committee, SB 25 requires government schools to provide pre-K through 8th-grade students with at least 30 minutes of physical education each day. It further prohibits restricting a child’s recess activity as a punishment for academic performance or behavior.
For higher education institutions, medical schools and other health-related majors must develop and implement nutrition curricula based on guidelines from the Texas Nutrition Advisory Committee.
“We have to do something to really curb these chronic diseases and [improve] life expectancy. This is for our children, and this is for our grandchildren, and this is for all of us,” said Kolkhorst.
Senators on the Health and Human Services Committee also plan to hear SB 314 on Wednesday, which State Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) filed in November.
The measure would prevent certain food additives—brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, azodicarbonamide, butylated hydroxyanisole, red dye 3, and titanium dioxide—from being used in schools’ free or reduced-price meals.
“The government really has committed malpractice and failed our children in this most fundamental area,” said Hughes. “Senate Bill 314 is for our kids who don’t have the privilege of choosing what they eat during the school day.”
“This bill affects more than 3 million students in over 8,000 schools. Texas will be the largest red state to lead on this issue,” he continued. “And we believe this will incentivize market players to make significant improvements in the quality of foods provided to the public.”
Hughes revealed that a committee substitute for the measure would expand the list of prohibited substances to include “multiple synthetic food dyes” and other harmful additives.
A companion measure to SB 314, House Bill 1290, has already been filed by State Rep. Caroline Harris Davila (R-Round Rock).