Wow..I've read all the posts on here and it looks like you guys have woked so had to get this law passes...Is there a bill before the House for 2011? I sure wish this would pass...I love to bake and have so many ideas of making a few extra bucks that it would be nice if I could do it fom home...If anyone knows anything about a bill for 2011 I would be interested in helping with it....

I just found this thread and am wondering if anyone is working on this for the 2011 year.

Same here! I was wondering if anyone is working on this for the 2011 year.

While they don't allow you to bake in a home kitchen. But will allow it if you have a totally separate out building/kitchen.

Does anyone know the rules & regulations for a food truck? I had the idea the other day while watching the FoodNetwork. They were showcasing a food truck that sold nothing but desserts - cupcakes, cupcake shake, cupcake on a stick, cake balls on a stick, etc.

I'm sure that buying a food truck is much cheaper than building a separate kitchen/outbuilding.

Just curious.

Hey All, if anyone is still following this thread, I'm meeting with Delegate Love on Friday, Feb 11 to discuss the reintroduction of the bill. If there is anything you'd like me to pass along when I'm there, I'm happy to take with me the comments of the masses!

You can reach me either through CakeCentral.com or via email at [email protected]

that's fantastic! Thank you for taking the time to meet with her on all of our behalf - and please thank her for us, too!

That is awesome! I hope it goes well.

Same here, I pray it does go well!!!

Thanks so much for taking up this issue! It's very frustrating to know we are surrounded by states that make this issue so much easier!

I actually was able to testify a few years ago but was unable to last year. It was quite an experience.

Let us know what we can do to help.

This is fantastic news! I hope this is finally successful. Please let me know how if I can help in any way.

Okay, so after my meeting with Delegate Love, this is where we stand ...

The bill will most likely not get introduced in 2011 because we're too far into the session already and some additional research/meetings need to happen.

In addition to Delegate Love (who is actually one of my delegates), a representative from the Health committee (his name was Patrick) also sat in on the meeting. His committee is who the bill initially goes to to be discussed. What he said is that unless we can get the health department onboard we will never get this past the committee!

So, our next step is to meet with Fran, she's the Deputy Director of the Health Department. We are going to see what concerns they have an see if, there is any evidence we can provide to assuage their concerns. Hopefully, through dialogue we can come to an agreement that will win us the approval we need in order to present this to the Legislature for 2012!!!!

amyruth - thanks for going to that meeting and giving us that information. Please keep us informed and let us know if there is anything we can do to help.

I'm moving to MD (Elkton) next month, so any info is appreciated. Thanks!

Ms Amyruth219
I will like to know if Ms Fran, Deputy Director of the Health Department is she responsible for the whole State of Maryland. i just wanted to know to see what I can do to help. Like asking if the health department in my area to help so this bill can be pass. Please do let us know what we can do to help as well. Thank you so much for doing this!

Thanks Ms. AmyRuth219

I would be more than happy to testify should you get it to that point this year. I live in Frederick, MD, and would love to be able to make and sell baked goods from my kitchen. I am a Wilton Method Instructor and have many students who would like to do the same. Please keep me informed on the progress of the bill. I hope it passes, and soon! With the recession, I could use any extra money this would help generate!

Thanks AmyRuth - I too testified on the first go round and that's what we were told as well....it's all about the Health Department....they are the key player here! Please keep us posted and I will do what I can this time around as well!

Thanks again for putting your time into all of this!

Late as usual once again, but has anyone else seen and read about New Jersey get their bill passed?

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bills/BillView.asp
http://www.facebook.com/NJHomeBakersBill

Ok so what do Marylander's need to do next? Is anyone spearheading this for 2012?

I would like to know what I can do to help get this passed!

Hi All,

Just an update ... I finally have a meeting with the Health Department on Friday. I will be meeting with Dr. Mitchell, he is the Assistant Director for the Office of Infectious Environmental Health and Food Protection. I will keep you all posted.

For those of you who are able, please take a minute to review the bill from last year and let me know if there is anything that you just CAN'T live with if it was changed.

Thanks!
- Amy

P.S. I have set up a facebook page to share this info with ... if you'd like to check it out, the address is: http://www.facebook.com/pages/MD-Cottage-Food-Law-Pending/129079773851142

Thank you Amy! Let me know if there is ANYTHING I can do to assist you!

really appreciate your efforts!

Thanks!

Where can we find the old bill to review it? I can't remember everything that it stated. Is it anything written like the Texas law?

thanks, Amyruth! Keep us posted and let us know if there is anything we can do to help!

Amyruth219 - how'd the meeting go?

Okay, sorry for the delay ... the meeting was rescheduled to this morning at 9:30am.

I'm still typing up my notes from the meeting but the moral of the story is, we need to be able to offset state and local Health Department costs, while not pissing off established businesses and conform to all federal, state and local ordinances.

Also, even if we get the law through the state legislature, it is likely that some counties will prohibit it through their local ordinances. Specifically, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, PG County and Montgomery ... there could be some issues with Anne Arundel and Howard Counties too but they are less likely to put up much hassle.

Needless to say, it's going to take a LOT of work to come up with a bill that makes everyone happy but I think we can all do it!

The good news is, if you want to be able to sell to the consumer in the mean time, you have two options ...

1) you can sell at Farmers Markets, Bake Sales, Craft Shows, and other such venues with just a basic license. You may even take custom orders at these venues but you must have your customer pick up from the venue (you can not deliver). You can find the actual code wording at http://www.dsd.state.md.us/comar/comarhtml/10/10.15.03.27.htm

2) you can work out an arrangement with an established kitchen (i.e. church, elks lodge, VFW) to use their kitchen for baking purposes and apply for a license with the county to operate as a food service facility. Info on these licenses for AA County can be found at http://www.aahealth.org/programs/env-hlth/licenses-and-permits/food-general ... I will find the links for the other counties and post them soon. [/url]

well that's disappointing!

Amyruth - I knew about the farmer's market allowance, but are you saying that the same rules apply to craft fairs and bake sales? i see bake sales in the title, but in the text it all refers to farmers markets... do you have any clarification on that?