California voters roundly rejected mandatory labeling requirements for genetically engineered (GE) foods last year. However, the specter of California requiring such GE labels, which could apply to 75 percent of grocery store foods, is now being revived in the form of State Senate Bill 1381. Introduced by Noreen Evans (D – Santa Rosa) on February 21, 2014, SB 1381 is being promoted as a “simpler, cleaner version” of Proposition 37, the voter initiative that California’s voters rejected at the polls just over a year ago.

While Senator Evans and other proponents of this new GE labeling bill claim that it removes the reasons that voters rejected Prop 37, many of the initiative’s main attributes seem to have been retained and in some instances made more burdensome. For example...