PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland doctor Gregg Coodley is promoting an initiative that would add a penny-per-ounce tax on soda drinks in Multnomah County.
Supporters say the tax would raise $35 million a year. Half the money would go to schools for physical education and after-school activities. The other half would go to local businesses that hire the unemployed.
The initiative needs 17,000 signatures to make the county ballot in November.
The American Beverage Association calls the proposed soda tax unfair and discriminatory.
