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Bill requiring restaurants to offer non-sugary options as default option on kids menu gets 1st 'OK'

The City Council voted 6-3 on the first reading of the ordinance, which would allow restaurants to serve soda and other sugary drinks on request.

AURORA, Colo. — The Aurora City Council on Monday gave initial approval to an ordinance that would require restaurants to offers non-sugary beverages as the default option on kids menus.

The council voted 6-3 in favor of moving the bill to a second reading. One City Council member was absent for the vote.

Under the proposal, kids menu meals would offer water or milk as a default beverage. Sugary drinks, like soda, would be available on request.

Heidi Baskfield, vice president of population health and advocacy at Children's Hospital Colorado, said she supports the bill because it's "proactive."

"Instead of having to get into the trenches with your kids about what drink, it’s easier to say, 'This is what you get because this is what the restaurant serves,'" she said.

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman released a statement on his Facebook page saying he "will not be supporting" the ordinance.

"I believe that the focus of government, when it comes to this important public health issue, should be on educating parents and their children about the health consequences associated with childhood obesity and how a poor diet and a lack of physical activity are both contributing factors to Type 2 diabetes in children," his statement says.

The bill's second reading will be March 16. If it passes then, businesses would have until Nov. 1 to get in compliance.

> The full bill can be found here.

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