Senate substitutes bill to ease food-truck licensing, mandate reciprocity across cities and counties

The Senate approved a first substitute to Senate Bill 250 aimed at reducing licensing and permitting burdens for food trucks by creating statewide reciprocity for health and safety permits and limiting local fees.

Sponsor Senator Henderson said jurisdictions often required separate licenses, inspections and per-day or per-location fees that made operating food trucks cumbersome and sometimes impossible. "If a food truck wants to operate, they have to get a license in every single county that they would like to operate in," she said, describing the new rules that would prevent cities from charging per-location or per-day fees and would provide reciprocity for county and city business licenses.

The substitute also eliminates mandatory criminal background checks as a condition for licensing, harmonizes fire and health inspection standards across counties and cities (at the request of the state fire marshal), and preserves local zoning authority except that jurisdictions cannot bar food trucks by distance from restaurants. Sponsor said the measure was developed with the Food Truck League, the League of Cities and Towns, counties, the Restaurant Association, county health departments and the fire marshal and reflects months of negotiation.

Senator Vickers praised the sponsor’s stakeholder work and said the bill appeared to be a near-consensus solution. The first substitute advanced to third reading after a roll-call vote recorded as 24 yea, 1 nay, 4 absent.

If enacted, the measure will reduce administrative burdens on mobile food vendors and create a more predictable licensing framework across jurisdictions, while leaving zoning and land-use control with local governments.