Hi there,
Wow, what a year it's been! I thought this would be a recap newsletter, but that will have to wait.
We've seen some amazing cottage food law improvements this year, but back in February,
I wrote that
I was most excited for Michigan's bill, in large part because Michigan has the lowest ranking on Forrager's map.
But
then the bill got abandoned in April, and I heard that it was pretty much dead. And from all appearances, it looked like they'd have to start over. Again.
Until a couple weeks ago, when
out of nowhere, the bill came back to life with the legislative session about to end.
And somehow
it got fast tracked through the Senate AND back through the House in only 2 days! This is truly unheard of, especially for a cottage food bill.
And
it was signed by the governor today!So
congratulations Michigan for passing HB 4122, the comeback bill of the year (and likely the decade)!
Their bill
will go into effect on March 24th, and will make major improvements to their law:
- Allow online sales, in-state shipping, and third-party delivery (with some stipulations*)
- Increase the sales limit from $25k to $50k, and continue increasing it each year to account for inflation
- Increase the sales limit to $75k for producers of high-priced items**
- Remove the home address label requirement
Their new law still won't be one of the best, but it certainly won't be the worst either!
What a great way to close out 2025, which has turned into one of the best -- if not THE best -- year for the cottage food industry!
Forraging ahead,
David
* Michigan is only allowing online sales if the consumer has an opportunity to meet the producer, either in-person or virtually. This is a first-of-its-kind requirement, and I'll share more thoughts about it in a future newsletter.
** Catered to wedding cake makers, their bill allows people who sell very-high-priced items to have a higher sales limit. This has also never been done by any other state before, and I'll share more about it later.