The Committee on Health and Veterans Affairs on Dec. 16 held public testimony on Bill 215, proposed by Sen. Vince Borja, to waive sanitary permit fees for student-led fundraisers.

Sen. Borja said the waiver removes a modest financial barrier — the bill’s fiscal note estimates roughly $3,000 in annual fee collections — and would help students keep more of the funds they raise for school activities. Student leaders and university and high-school representatives described instances where student organizations paid permit fees (temporary sanitary permits range from a single-day fee up to an approximately $300 permit that covers up to 180 days) and said waivers would encourage civic engagement and lower costs for small clubs.

DPHSS Director Theresa Areola and Division of Environmental Health (DEH) officials said they support waiving the fee but made several drafting and operational recommendations: preserve all health and safety requirements, retain or clarify definitions (for example use “temporary food service establishment” consistently), avoid replacing a single manageable 180-day permit with many short permits, and remove an unnecessary requirement for the department to adopt rules within 90 days (since statute supersedes rules).

DOE food-service officials said schools already work with DEH and that the Department of Education will ensure student events comply with federal child-nutrition policies (CFR) during school hours. DEH staff noted ServSafe manager certification requirements and that some current code language may require manager-level certification for certain prepackaged food sales, which could be revisited for student events.

Committee members thanked witnesses and said the bill’s waiver intent is clear: fees would be waived but sanitation and food-safety standards remain. The hearing concluded and the committee signaled the bill will proceed to markup.