Mississippi Bill Bans Soda Bans In 'Anti-Bloomberg Bill'

Right after a judge threw out Mayor Bloomberg's soda ban, calling it "arbitrary and capricious," Mississippi has come up with a bill to block any attempts at a soda ban, ever.

Appropriately nicknamed the "Anti-Bloomberg bill," the bill prohibits any law that might restrict what residents eat or drink, save for federal regulations.

This basically means the Mississippi legislature is the only one to have power to limit what people eat, meaning limiting soda sizes, salt content, fat content, and more is all within the realm of the state legislature, instead of cities or counties.

The bill is reportedly likely to get a "swift signature" from Governor Phil Bryant, The New York Times reports, and doesn't just cover food restrictions. Similarly, cities and counties would not be able to ban toys from happy meals, force restaurants to post calorie counts, or limit portion sizes, not to mention change how food is grown (a big loss for the anti-GMO food movement). This one of the broadest anti-soda ban reactions, The Times reports; Florida, Arizona, and Alabama have similar restrictions.

In the meantime, Bloomberg has responded to this anti-Bloomberg bill, saying to CBS, "How can somebody try to pass a law that deliberately says we can't improve the lives of our citizens? It's farce." He then drew comparisons to the bill banning smoking indoors, or getting lead out of the paint in classrooms. On the judge's decision: "The judge couldn't be more wrong," he said. "We assume we will prevail in court."