Representative Dan Gattis has ordered draft legislation which would make it legal for Texans to sell cakes and cookies prepared in residential kitchens.

This legislation must be filed in order for it to become a bill. We have just been notified that the deadline is March 13 (next Friday) rather than March 31!

Kelley Masters is hosting an emergency planning meeting at La Madeline on N. Lamar at 4:00 on Sunday 3/8 to brief anyone interested in becoming more knowledgeable about the Cottage Food movement, and devise a game plan for the coming week. If you are interested in helping make this legislation a bill, or meeting with your state Senator or Representative, please plan on attending!

If this legislation is not filed by Friday, March 13, then it can not be filed this legislative session, and it will be two more years before we have a chance of changing the law.

RSVP to [email protected] if you would like to attend!

I wish I could have gone but had cake deliveries for this afternoon and got a last minute cake order for tomorrow. Just keep us all informed on what is happening!

Thanks everyone! The planning meeting today went great! The plan for this week is as follows:

On Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday everybody (yes, you! everybody!)needs to call their state senator and representative and educate them about the issue, tell them that the legislation is drafted and in Representative Gattis office, and ask them to either introduce or co-sponsor it. If you are in the Austin area, try to get a meeting with the legislator or their staff. If you want me to come with you, I will make every effort (fair warning: I may have a baby with me!).

The time for writing letters and signing the petition has passed. We have only 5 days to go, we need to get these peoples attention.

If the bill is not filed by Wednesday, then we are going to get as big a group together as we can, and, wearing matching cake show shirts, go down to the Capitol and go from office to office, giving cupcakes and making as many legislators as possible aware of this issue. This will definitely be a last ditch attempt, but we can invite the media and make some noise.

Find out who your state senator and representative are,and start calling tomorrow! Call every day until Friday! We do NOT want to have to wait until 2011 to try again.

The bad economy is in our favor. We need to get this done now.

What are we to say when we call? I'm not sure what needs to be said.

Go to www.TexasCottageFoodLaw.com/HowToHelp.htm to see exactly what to say.

I just sent an email to Chris Harris, my rep.

I told him to imagine a church carnival with no cake walk! Because even donated cakes are considered illegal!

As a fellow Texan who does everything by the book (except driving 5 mph over the speed limit..HA) and is very frustrated with this law, I just called my representative and senator. Thanks so much for the heads up and please keep us updated.

I called my state representative and had to educate the person on the phone about it. I missed office hours on my state senator, but sent an email and got an automated response from that. I live in College Station and my rep works with Austin's rep. YEAH for that.

Anyway, it looks like Kelley hasn't been on here yet, but Rep Gattis did sign the draft and it was being filed. Kelley will update us with the info I'm sure. Now we have to make it through the committee!

We have a new thread in the General section to discuss the bill

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-622123.html