Last week, we advised you that the DC Council amended the District sales tax in order to grab an extra 2% sales tax on the sale of sugary drinks. Without wasting any time at all, this week, Councilmember Brianne Nadeau introduced a new measure that would replace the sales tax increase with a new excise tax equal to 1.5 cents per ounce. The Healthy Beverages Choice Act of 2019, with seven additional councilmembers signing on as co-sponsors, is projected to generate as much as $21 million in new revenue which would be earmarked for health and wellness programs in Wards 4,7 and 8, and. Any legislation passed by the 13-member DC Council can be overridden by Congress, but a move by the democrat-controlled US House of Representatives to repeal a DC soda tax is highly unlikely.