Tulsa officials weigh changes to local food‑truck rules after state preemption laws

Tulsa officials on Wednesday discussed two proposed ordinances that would amend city code to comply with recent Oklahoma laws limiting local regulation of mobile food vendors.

Caroline Gerowolf, an attorney in the city's legal department, told the Public Works Committee the changes respond to two state bills: House Bill 1076, the Food Truck Freedom Act, which largely preempts local restrictions and fees for food trucks, and House Bill 2459, which assigns certain fire‑safety inspection authority to the state fire marshal. "The Food Truck Freedom Act...is primarily the state preempting cities with respect to food trucks," Gerowolf said, and the city is revising Title 17 and Title 21 of the Tulsa Revised Ordinances to match state law.

The proposed amendments would remove Tulsa's separate mobile‑vendor license (currently $30) and eliminate local fees that exceed the administrative cost of issuing the required city recognition of a state food permit. Under the draft, the city would continue a nominal $5 processing charge for a city food permit; other fees now tied to a local mobile‑vendor license would be struck.

Eric Kronft, also from the legal…