VIDEO: Would You Pay a Penny Extra for Every Swig of Soda to Help Our Struggling Public Schools and Reduce Childhood Obesity?

A study released today by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that has offices in Davis, Oakland and Los Angeles, suggests that public schools in L.A. county could have $370.2 million in extra funds if a bill introduced in the state legislature last February by California Assembly member Bill Monning (D-Carmel) becomes law.

The AB 669 “Soda Tax” bill proposes an additional tax of one cent on every ounce of soda sold in the state—a levy that might seem somewhat excessive even to the most liberal-minded Eagle Rockers, such as Mike Zamarripa, owner of the popular , who thinks that a standard one-cent per 12 ounces of soda would be more ideal.

The study estimates that a penny-per-ounce tax could result in statewide savings of as much as $1.7 billion, which would not only help balance the state’s $26.6 billion budget deficit (as of early 2011) but also help control an obesity epidemic that costs California no less than $41 billion annually.

For L.A.’s public schools, says the study, the soda tax would inject $216 million directly into classrooms, plus make available $154 million for a variety of children’s programs, including youth sports, PE and healthy lunches.

For more details about the Soda Tax bill, including its impact on Los Angeles, check out the pdfs to your right.