Committee approves bill requiring delivery services to have restaurant agreements

The Senate Agriculture, Forestry & Economic Development Committee on [date] approved House Bill 1426, a bill that would require third‑party food delivery services to have a formal agreement with restaurants before delivering their food. Sponsors said the change is aimed at protecting restaurants from reputational harm and poor quality control when independent operators represent a restaurant without permission.

Representative Robin Lundstrom, who introduced the bill for the House sponsor, said the measure addresses cases in which delivery platforms list restaurant menus without the owner's knowledge and deliver food that is stale or incorrectly priced. "You think it's a normal consumer carryout and it's somebody that's gonna drive around for 45 minutes before they actually get it delivered," Lundstrom said, arguing that the restaurant's reputation can suffer if deliveries are late or incorrect.

Lawmakers questioned order flow and consumer experience. One senator asked whether customers place orders with restaurants or with the delivery services; the sponsor and committee testimony clarified that orders are typically placed with the delivery platform, which can lead to menu inaccuracies, stale prices and customer complaints. Committee members pressed that the bill does not ban delivery platforms but requires restaurants be asked before their menus are listed.

The sponsor said she and industry representatives agreed to delay the bill’s effective date to Jan. 1, 2022 to give companies time to comply. The committee closed debate, moved the bill and approved it by voice vote.

The bill will proceed according to committee rules; no public testimony was recorded for or against the measure during this hearing.