Arnold Schwarzenegger

January 2005 Under Governor Schwarzenegger’s leadership, the State Board of Education adopted the first-ever physical fitness standards for California schools; and in the Governor’s subsequent budgets, he provided unprecedented funding for school PE teachers, equipment, and supplies.

September 15, 2005 Governor Schwarzenegger convened the first-ever Governor’s Summit on Health, Nutrition, and Obesity, bringing together leaders and experts from the business, education, and public-health communities to combat the obesity crisis. Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB 12, which set nutrition standards for food served and sold in K–12 public schools; SB 281, which provided a framework to implement the $18.2 million in the Governor’s budget to include more fresh fruits and vegetables in school meal programs; and SB 965, which extended the ban on the sale of soda currently in middle schools to public high schools, but allowed the sale of milk products, juice-based products, water, and electrolyte drinks to continue.

September 25, 2006 The Governor signed AB 1535, which continued the school instructional gardens program through grants and staff support to develop and maintain gardens at California schools. To increase low-income communities’ access to fruits and vegetables, Governor Schwarzenegger also signed AB 2676, which continued the issuance of certificates for certified farmers’ markets producers and markets; and AB 2384, which required that the Department of Health Services develop a “Healthy Food Purchase” pilot program to provide incentives for low-income communities to increase purchases of fresh fruits and vegetables.

January 4, 2007 Governor Schwarzenegger reconstituted the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and the Governor’s Fitness Challenge to promote physical activity for all Californians, with an emphasis on children and youth. This program engaged more than 100,000 students in 2009 and 1 million in 2010.

July 7, 2008 The Governor entered into an agreement with six major Hollywood studios to deliver California’s award-winning, anti-smoking ads on youth-rated movie DVDs to counteract the glamorization of smoking in movies.

July 25, 2008 The Governor signed AB 97, which will phase out the use of trans fats in all California restaurants beginning in 2010 and from all baked goods by 2011.

September 30, 2008 Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB 1420, which made California the first state in the nation to require that restaurant chains with twenty or more locations statewide post calorie information on menus and indoor menu boards.

September 30, 2008 The Governor signed SB 441, which orders each vendor who operates or maintains a vending machine on state property to satisfy the requirement that at least 35 percent of the food and at least one-third of the beverages offered in the vending machines meet accepted nutritional guidelines by January 1, 2011. 

October 2, 2008 Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 31, which provided $400 million from Proposition 84 money for new parks all over the state of California. 

September 30, 2010 The Governor signed SB 1413, which provides students with access to fresh, free drinking water in food service areas at schools.