California Cottage Food Act Introduced In State Assembly
Decorating By jason_kraft Updated 12 Nov 2012 , 4:47am by ellavanilla
I think a "well funded home bakery SuperPac" is probably an oxymoron.
It's certainly possible, we already know there is at least one big company supporting the CFL. With the right contacts one could enlist the support of other companies that would benefit from the law, big retail's pockets are just as deep as big hospitality. If individual contributions were solicited from some kind of central location for discussing cake, this could give home bakers the edge.
AB 1616 has been amended, from a quick read it looks like there is now a limit of $50K gross annual sales, a requirement for a food safety class, and it allows one employee in addition to the owner. There is also a multi-tier system in place where Class A businesses are retail only while Class B businesses are allowed to sell retail or wholesale. Registration and an initial inspection is required for both classes, followup inspections are still only required if there is a complaint. The fees for class B will probably be higher.
New text of bill:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/asm/ab_1601-1650/ab_1616_bill_20120410_amended_asm_v98.html
The next hearing date is still Apr 17.
So with that cap of $50K then why have the bill. CA sucks all the money from business, and if you hire an employee maybe you will have some money left. The cap needs to be higher. If you want to have an LLC the cost can be $800-900 (This is what my husband paid for it a year ago) a year where in other states it is less. I guess we need to see where it goes, send a message to Christine about this cap, so lets see what she says.
I don't think a $50K cap is unreasonable. If you are putting out $50K of product every year you are probably better off in a commercial kitchen anyway, since home kitchens are typically not built for high throughput. The cost of doing business is higher in CA but it's not that bad, the LLC cost is probably the biggest discrepancy.
A higher cap would lead to greater resistance from existing businesses and could end up killing the bill entirely.
I think that it's very reasonable, I can't wait for this law to go through! If you're making $50k a year in sales, I'm sure by then you'll have the means of opening up your own commercial kitchen (at least)
So when will it go into effect ? And does amended mean that they are thinking about it or that it will pass for sure?
The fact that it was amended means that other people had some concerns and they worked with the author to change some of the wording, that's generally a good sign since it means the bill will now be amenable to more assembly members.
The bill will be discussed at the assembly health committee meeting next Tuesday. From there it may be sent to the assembly appropriations committee to discuss the fiscal impact of the bill, then it may or may not be put to a floor vote in the assembly. If it passes the assembly it is sent to the state senate, where the process is repeated. If it passes both the assembly and the senate it is sent to the governor to be signed into a law.
Since this is not exactly a high priority bill the process may take a few months, or it may not be voted on at all this year. The more people contact their CA assembly members directly the more likely the bill gets passed quickly (signing online petitions doesn't really help).
http://assembly.ca.gov/legislativeprocess#step2
Hello everybody,
So I have so many questions that i dont know which one to ask first. I do live in Alabama, and trying to figure out the laws here. I guest what i'm tring to ask if you are a home baker in a state with a cottage food law did you have to redo your kitchen to be able to sell your beautiful cakes. Please let me know!
Hello everybody,
So I have so many questions that i dont know which one to ask first. I do live in Alabama, and trying to figure out the laws here. I guest what i'm tring to ask if you are a home baker in a state with a cottage food law did you have to redo your kitchen to be able to sell your beautiful cakes. Please let me know!
Just google Alabama Cottage Food Law and you'll come up with a lot of information. Here's the first one that popped up on the list:
http://homebasedbaking.com/knowledgebase/rules-regulations/alabama/
You'll end up having to contact your local health departments or the state Department of Agriculture no matter what since they will have the specifics for your City, County, and State.
I listened to the hearing today online. Here's my summary- 12 votes and it now passes to Appropriations. No opposition was filed and no one testified in opposition. There were a couple of comments re tightening up language with respect to the public health issue, but they were still generally supportive of the bill. Did anyone attend or listen in? A gentleman spoke as an "in-betweener" but I did not catch his name. I don't think he was a committee member.
I listened to the hearing today online. Here's my summary- 12 votes and it now passes to Appropriations. No opposition was filed and no one testified in opposition. There were a couple of comments re tightening up language with respect to the public health issue, but they were still generally supportive of the bill. Did anyone attend or listen in? A gentleman spoke as an "in-betweener" but I did not catch his name. I don't think he was a committee member.
That is great news!!!! So exciting!!!!
If the law passes, How long will it take to go into effect? If anyone has some sort of estimate
In other states the laws typically take effect 3-6 months after the governor signs the bill. Since this bill also requires an initial inspection before you can get a permit there may also be a waiting list if not enough inspectors are available.
A legislative analysis of the bill has also been posted:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/asm/ab_1601-1650/ab_1616_cfa_20120413_210746_asm_comm.html
Some interesting highlights:
2g) Internet sales would be allowed for Class B licenses
4) Authorizes DPH to assess a maximum civil penalty of $1,000 per day against any person in violation of this bill.
Kids and pets are allowed in the home but not in the kitchen while orders are being processed
17)Prohibits a Class A CFO from being subject to initial or routine inspections by the LEHD and subjects a Class B CFO to no more than one annual inspection by the LEHD. (This contradicts the wording of the bill, so the inspection requirement for Class A may be removed)
1Authorizes the HD to inspect the home if they have reason to believe there is a violation
The next big hurdle is appropriations, where they will figure out how to pay for all these new inspections. If Class A inspections are being removed that will help reduce the cost of implementing the bill quite a bit.
Also of note, there are two pages of organizations who have registered in support of this bill (including AFL-CIO and Whole Foods) and none registered in opposition.
I have another question, if I am renting the house where I'm going to be doing business, do I need to contact the landlord? I'm so excited! I really hope this goes through before the end of the year
The bill was amended on 4/26 to implement the changes from the legislative analysis I posted above, so it looks like as long as you only sell direct to customers you may not need an inspection.
AB1616 is still in the appropriations committee, which determines the fiscal impact of the bill. They had a meeting today and did not discuss AB1616, so unless they have another meeting, pass it, and put it to a floor vote in the assembly by June 1st, the bill will have to wait until next year.
Bill status:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=ab_1616&sess=CUR&house=A&search_type=bill_update
CA legislative deadlines:
http://assembly.ca.gov/legislativedeadlines
Contact info for the appropriations committee:
http://apro.assembly.ca.gov/
So, I take it chances are pretty slim for getting it passed this year?
Depends how often the appropriations committee meets, if they only meet once a month there is zero chance for the bill to be passed this year. If they meet next week and pass AB 1616 there is a chance it could make it out of the Assembly, in which case the House has until Aug 31 to pass it.
I don't know if this falls under the cottage food law or not. But I was curious if it is possible to turn a garage into a licensed commercial kitchen? Or any area that's separated from the actual residence?
I don't know if this falls under the cottage food law or not. But I was curious if it is possible to turn a garage into a licensed commercial kitchen? Or any area that's separated from the actual residence?
It is possible as long as you can pass a health department inspection and are compliant with local zoning ordinances. There would probably be a considerable up-front investment needed though.
i looked on the appropriations committee website and it says that they meet every Monday @ 11:00 AM. So maybe there is still hope!!
The appropriations committee in the CA Senate meets every Monday, since this bill originated out of the assembly, the appropriations committee in the CA Assembly would have to approve it, and there is no mention of their schedule on the Assembly web site.
Senate appropriations would only get involved after the bill is passed by assembly appropriations, passed by assembly floor vote, and passed by the Senate health committee.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%