JUNEAU -- A Juneau Assembly member is trying to resurrect her proposal to exempt some foods from the city's sales tax.

Sara Chambers says the city shouldn't be making revenue off basic foods that people need to survive.

Chambers raised the idea at an assembly meeting a few months ago.

But then she went on maternity leave and missed meetings in November and December when the topic would have been followed up.

Chambers initially asked the assembly to create a task force to study effects of a food tax exemption.

Several assembly members say a previous task force examined city sales taxes at length and those findings should be revisited rather than starting anew.

Chambers said she doesn't want to "spend a lot of time just sitting around in a task force and getting through 2009 without any measurable action."

The state doesn't levy a sales tax, so the matter is a local government issue.

A number of details must be determined before a formal proposal can be drafted, such as how an exemption would affect city revenues and how that loss would be made up.

Tourists account for much of Juneau's $40 million-plus annual sales tax base, suggesting the effect might not be as great as other cities have experienced.