Hi,

It’s been awhile since I shared some cottage food law updates with you!

2019 has been a fruitful year for the cottage food industry, with many states improving their laws.

Before getting into it, I must give kudos to Erica Smith and her team at the Institute for Justice. They have helped improve five laws in the past two years, and they are working on others right now. Notably, they've tackled some of the toughest states.

They are even taking on the worst state: New Jersey. Just this week, the New York Times published an excellent article about the fiasco in New Jersey.

Here are this year's laws, based on when they took/take effect:

California -- AB 626 -- January 1st
California kicked off the new year with their new law for “microenterprise home kitchen operations”. Basically, the law allows mini home restaurants, but only if counties approve. And as I predicted last year, counties are saying no to this law; so far, only one (Riverside) has allowed these businesses. But even with massive limitations, it's still impressive that this type of law passed at all.

West Virginia -- SB 285 -- June 5th
The Institute for Justice completely revamped West Virginia’s cottage food law, which is now one of the best laws in the country. What's most notable is that it protects cottage food businesses from unneeded government regulation (no licenses, fees, restrictions, etc), yet still allows virtually all non-perishable food items to be sold through any venue, with no sales limits.

Texas -- SB 572 -- September 1st
After a couple failed attempts, the Texans finally have a new amendment for their cottage food law. And it’s a big one! The new law greatly expands the allowed foods, including pickled and fermented foods, all non-perishable foods, and even frozen produce (a first for a traditional cottage food law). Also, producers can sell anywhere in the state, including online sales (fulfilled locally).

Nebraska -- LB 304 -- October 1st
Nebraska’s very limited, current law dates back to 2003, before cottage food laws were common. The Institute for Justice stepped in and helped create their first true cottage food law. It isn’t nearly as comprehensive as West Virginia’s law, but it’s a good starting point. It will allow residents to sell some types of food from home, at farmers markets, at events, and online.

Maryland -- SB 0290 -- October 1st
Well, that was fast! Just last year, the Institute for Justice helped improve Maryland’s cottage food law by allowing direct sales from anywhere in the state. This year, they improved it again by allowing indirect sales at retail stores and food co-ops.

There you have it! Five new laws in the books… that’s very good for one year (remember, there are other bills that didn’t pass this year).

In my next update, I’ll share the shift I am currently seeing in the cottage food industry.

David