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Sponsor says bill would stop ‘double-dip’ food licensing for rented event venues without kitchens
Summary
Representative Carter and Representative Mueller testified on House Bill 4042, which would address food-service licensing requirements for venues that rent space for events but have no kitchen. Sponsors said current enforcement has required some venues to obtain fullfood licenses despite using licensed caterers.
Representative Carter and Representative Mueller testified to the House Regulatory Reform Committee on House Bill 4042, which sponsors described as aimed at clarifying food-service licensing for event venues that lack kitchens.
“Last year, the county health department came after 8 years and said, you kinda slid under the radar here for the last 9 years. You don't have a food license,” Representative Mueller told the committee, describing his wife's orchard wedding venue. “We had to jump through these hoops. Even though we have a food license down 600 feet or about 300 yards away at our actual farm ... they came back out and said we needed to have a food license.”
Carter said the bill responds to situations created during COVID in which some establishments that do not have kitchens and rent their spaces for private events nevertheless were required to pay food-service licensing fees. “They have to pay a food service fee, and they don't even have a kitchen,” Carter said, calling the requirement “double dipping.”
Committee members asked clarifying questions about which agency conducted enforcement. Representative Dyer asked whether the state or county health department had acted; Mueller said the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) inspected the orchard and notified the county health department, which then enforced licensing. Representative Wozniak asked whether the bill distinguished between for-profit and nonprofit venues; sponsors said it did not.
No amendments were offered during the hearing; the committee received the sponsor testimony and moved on to other agenda items.
Representative Carter presented the bill and invited Representative Mueller to add personal background. The transcript does not record a committee vote on HB4042 at this meeting.
Because the hearing record includes sponsor testimony and questions from multiple representatives, the committee may consider technical clarifications or jurisdictional questions in future hearings.
