Longview staff: new state laws take much of health oversight for food trucks away from cities

City staff outlined on Sept. 11 how two recent state laws will sharply limit Longview’s local permitting authority over mobile food trucks while leaving zoning control with the city.

Shirley, a city staff member, told the City Council that "Senate Bill 1,008 . . . limits our ability to issue permits as to only those permits that the state issues," and that the bill is effective Sept. 1. Shirley said the city already revised fee processes to align with state fees and that the state rule now controls whether a local permit may be issued for a given retail food establishment.

Shirley said the longer-term change is House Bill 2844, which will take effect July 1, 2026, and "basically takes jurisdiction for . . . food trucks away from cities . . . and will put that directly under the state Department of State Health Services." He said the city will retain zoning authority — for example, where food trucks may park or whether they must be on paved surfaces — and retain the ability to require compliance with local fire code provisions, but that the city will not be the primary health/permitting authority.

Why it matters: Shirley said the bills are intended to reduce redundant permitting across jurisdictions and standardize inspections, but he warned of practical problems for Longview residents and enforcement staff. Under the new structure, the city would have to forward health complaints to the state and would have little power to require corrections; the state is to create a program that may let cities contract to perform inspections, but reimbursement rates and program details remain undecided.

Details staff provided: - Senate Bill 1008 is effective Sept. 1 and generally limits local permitting power to the state-issued categories; cities must align fees with state fee structures and may no longer require a commissary to be located inside city limits where the state does not require it. - House Bill 2844 (mostly effective July 1, 2026) will make the Department of State Health Services the primary permitting authority for mobile food units; the city will still control zoning and may require compliance with fire code but cannot insist on annual city fire inspections if another entity has inspected a unit. - Longview currently has roughly "15 to 20, 25" mobile food units at any given time, a number that fluctuates between permanently permitted units and special-event vendors; local limits (for example, restricting temporary vendors to once every 30 days) will no longer be permitted where the state does not impose them. - The city issues 12-month food permits (brick-and-mortar and mobile) while the state currently issues two-year permits; Shirley said the state program may move to annual permits under the new structure.

Councilmembers asked clarifying questions about how special-event permits will work after July 2026, how long local permits last, and which state agency will administer the program. Shirley identified the administering agency as the Department of State Health Services and said that, from now until July 2026, the city will continue to permit and regulate mobile food units while it coordinates with the state and local operators on renewals.

The presentation was informational; council took no formal action on this item at the Sept. 11 meeting.