Nevada bill would raise cottage-food sales cap to $100,000 and move oversight to Department of Agriculture

Carson City — Assembly Bill 352, introduced March 17 by Assemblywoman Natha Anderson, would expand Nevada’s cottage-food law to allow a broader range of home-produced foods and small-batch cosmetics, raise the annual gross-sales cap to $100,000 and shift licensing and oversight from local health districts to the Nevada Department of Agriculture.

The bill’s sponsor said the changes aim to modernize rules that currently limit small, home-based entrepreneurs. “Sections 12 through 19 reorganize the oversight of cottage food operations to be under the Department of Agriculture and incorporate acidified foods to the lehi list of food items,” Assemblymember Natha Anderson said during the hearing. She described several substantive changes including allowing Internet and phone orders and increasing the permitted annual gross sales cap from $35,000 to $100,000.

Why this matters: Supporters said the update will let small producers scale without immediate costly moves into commercial kitchens and will align Nevada with other states that allow online ordering and higher revenue caps. Opponents — primarily local health departments — said the bill could produce enforcement gaps and increase public-health risk if acidified and fermented foods are produced in home kitchens without local oversight.

Key provisions and testimony - Gross-sales cap: The bill increases the maximum annual gross sales for cottage operations from $35,000 to $100,000. “This increase is similar to some other states’ proposed changes,” Anderson said. - Licensing and oversight: The bill would have the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) license and regulate cottage-food and cottage-cosmetic operations, consolidating activity now handled by county and city health districts and, for craft foods, by NDA. - Cosmetics: The proposal would authorize limited cottage cosmetics production in private residences, relying in part on a 2022 federal regulatory change. Kelly Kelly, an advisor on farm and value‑added food businesses, noted: “With the passage of the modernization of cosmetics regulatory act in 2022, the federal government created a small business exemption, exempting cosmetic producers who make less than a million dollars in annual sales from the requirement to be in a commercial inspected facility.” - Acidified foods and craft-food repeal: The bill would fold acidified (pH ≤ 4.6) foods such as pickles and some salsas into the cottage-food list and repeal the separate craft-food licensure track. - Sales channels: Section 16 explicitly adds phone and Internet sales as allowable sales channels for cottage food operations.

Supporters and local business impact Small-business owners and trade groups urged passage. Lisa Stevens, owner of Battle Born Bread in Fallon, testified she started her sourdough bakery to stay at home for family care and now confronts the current cap: “I’m starting to come up against the ceiling of of the income requirements… it's an average of around $10 a a loaf,” Stevens said, describing why a higher cap matters for growth without moving into commercial facilities. The Nevada Farm Bureau, the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, the Retail Association of Nevada and the Nevada Department of Agriculture (which took a neutral position) expressed support or conditional neutrality focused on statewide consistency and business access.

Health and enforcement concerns Local public-health officials and several city and county representatives opposed or asked for amendments. Amber English, environmental health supervisor with Northern Nevada Public Health, said the bill raises food-safety questions: “Expanding the production and sales of acidified foods increases health risks including botulism,” she testified, adding that home kitchens may lack controls needed for certain products and that state-level administration could reduce local real-time inspection capacity.

Southern Nevada Health District and Central Nevada Health District witnesses warned the transfer of registration and primary oversight to a state agency could leave local inspectors with enforcement responsibilities but without registration authority, creating potential oversight gaps at events and markets. Henderson city staff and the Vegas Chamber asked for clarifying language on local regulatory authority.

Process notes and next steps Committee members asked the sponsor for additional data on current average cottage‑food revenues and the threshold rationale. Anderson said she would provide data requested by members. The sponsor and stakeholders said they will continue to work on amendments to address local-health concerns before the bill advances.

Ending note No formal vote was taken during the March 17 hearing. The committee closed the hearing after public and agency testimony and the sponsor’s closing remarks.