I'm going to try to attach the opposition letters. Hopefully my attachment works this time.

I think we really need to talk with the Health Department before presenting a bill again next year. We really need their buy-in; if they are against our bill, we will most likely fail. Does anyone live or work close to Annapolis who could speak with the Department? There has to be some compromise that they'll agree to (well, hopefully!).

Edited: I'm sorry, I don't know why my pdf files don't post on CC. Has anyone successfully posted a PDF here? I can email you the file and see if it works that way (it's 3 pages).

Thanks for getting that info - I agree - we need the HD on board if this is going to work. Maybe between now and next year we could set up a time to meet with someone from the HD and talk about what their major concerns are with the bill, and what changes would make them support it and maybe hash it out before the bill gets written for next year? I'm willing to come to Annapolis if we plan the day in advance so I can arrange for someone to watch the kids. Does Delegate Love have any advice for us?


Jodie: can you save the docs as a jpg and post that way? I have never tried to post a pdf on here. If you send it to me I can play with it and try to post it as well.

jodie, you can email the PDF to me if we can't get it to upload

[email protected]

I'd be willing to go to annapolis, its about 30-45 min. away for me. I'd just need to take off work.

Cortney, I sent you the letters (Danielle, I don't have your email). I'm trying to see if I can save it to jpg, but suddenly my work scanning system is deciding not to function. Go figure

I can go to Annapolis every other Friday, when I'm off from work. Perhaps having 2 or 3 of us would help. I haven't checked with Delegate Love yet on her suggestions. We might also want to check with the 2 delegates that actually voted for our bill and see if they have suggestions (and maybe the ones who had emailed us and said they would support and then they did not). I really think delegates are in support of the idea of allowing home bakers to sell from their home kitchens, but they don't know how to go about the regulations to do so.

Agreed, Jodie.

Thanks for sending the letters to me. Its clearly not about whether or not it is safe, as the goods can already be sold! We just need to get to a place where we can sell the goods without driving them to a farmers market!! Grrr, after reading the letters I'm feeling rather frustrated, and like such a little fish in a big pond. With those organizations so set against it, its hard to remember that they're not against my hopes and dreams specifically, but hormonal crazy me thinks they're all out to get me!

Basically, we should determine what we want to say the the Health Department. Then we just need to call them and make an appointment to meet. We can try to come up with acceptable dates/times among the few of us who want to go before we call, just to make sure we can actually attend! I also emailed Delegate Love to see if she had any other ideas we should pursue this year.

Please count me in for the trip to Annapolis!!!

Looks like Oklahoma has a bill voted that was voted in the "YAY" category in committee...might be worth a look for what rules & regs they included...
http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopicp-6731057.html#6731057

They limited the annual income. (might address concerns about sewer use, etc.)
They also EXCLUDED churches, fraternal organizations, etc. (might address the bake sale issue brought up by some delegates)
They also limited the number of licenses issued each year. (?? Might help w/budget for inspectors???not sure about this one...)

Will read opposition letters Jodie provided and post my thoughts later this evening.

Hi Jodie,
I can not upload it either. Hope you mind if you can email the letter to me as well, Thanks!!! [email protected]

I'll fwd it to you Lecie.

Let's try this: Letter 1.

Here's the second one & the third one.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO SEND THE LETTER TO ME.

Ok, get the popcorn....here are my initial thoughts, after reading the letters line by line...The first and the third (DHMH and MACHO) are practically the same letter, so I addressed them in one big lump...(ya know, the same way they lumped us in with farmers' markets...
*********
From DHMH & MACHO

1.  âwould create a potential burden on both state and local HD resourcesâ
a.  Inspections would only be complaint driven, which would likely
result in fines, sanctions = income for the dept.
b.  Registration fees would be set to cover additional âburdenâ
2.  we would NOT be âretail locationsâ, therefore zoning should not
come into question, nor should fire safety, land use, etc.
a.  Would changing/adding âDelivery Onlyâ remedy this situation?
3.  Water testing? Sewerage system? What if we limit the
productionâ¦would that address the issue?
a.  Most of us pay for our sewer & water usage anyway, it would be
OUR bill to pay, a business expense.
4.  âcomplaintsâ¦requireâ¦considerable resources of the agenciesâ  
a.  Isnât this why we would be paying a registration fee?
b.  How is this currently funded?
c.  Letâs look at numbers: Tax revenue for the state + registration
fees â fees/salary for HD personnel = State of MD still on the +
side?
5.  âDistinction between home sales + level of sales that would
constitute wholesale manufacturingâ
a.  Bill specifically states ânot for resale.â
b.  What type of limit do they want to see? $$$? Number of
cakes/orders per month?
6.  âsales of baked goods in farmersâ markets can be conducted and
has already created the opportunity for sellers of baked goodsâ¦â
a.  This does not allow for custom baking.
b.  This does not allow for whole cakes, nor does it allow for the a
baker to make her own schedule, which is what the bill is aimed at
providing.
c.  What happens if a complaint is filed against a baker at the farmersâ
market? Still requires use of HD resources, etc. and no registration
fee to cover it, and these people are not certified which increases
likelihood of health issues arising.
d.  Also limited to May-October. What about the rest of the year?

Farmer Bureau
1.  âIt is our understanding that the baked goods described above are
already available at farmers markets and roadside standsâ¦â
a.  No, they are not. We are talking about custom birthday, wedding
and other celebration cakes, custom cookies, and other custom
baked goods.
2.  âwithout the expense of DHMH registration and paperworkâ
a.  So itâs ok to sell this stuff without the health dept. involved? How
does DHMH feel about this? Isnât this contradictory to their
concerns?
3.  âWe are not aware ofâ¦any effort to prevent the sale of these
goods by the state.â
a.  Custom cakes, cookies and other baked goods are not possible under the farmersâ market bill.

*****
So, that's how I feel about THAT. (If you actually read it all, I owe you a cookie! LOL!) Now I'm all fired up and want to figure out how to make this work. Other thoughts?

They can bite me thats how I really feel at this point. It is custom cake. What we supposed to do sliced them up and sell these cakes. Who is really going to buy these kind of cakes we make and sell at a roadside or some farmer's market. It looks tacky. I do not think they really put much thought into the bill. Come on, think about it. Do they really think people will be lining up outside our home daily to buy cake. We are not asking for a store front, just to sell our cakes without having a penalty. they should of asked us these kind of questions or do reseach in other states that allowed home bakery.

Im going to make some calls tomorrow to my health department. Hope they can help me. Can people place orders and i can delivery the cakes. Right now there's so much to think about and i need answers on how to make this work for me because. Im a stay-at -home-mom and had everything planned out but its a no-no.

I haven't gotten any updates until this morning!

I'm so disappointed. I really felt we had a shot and then to see how many of the delagates voted no. It's really disheartening.

I will be glad to go along to the Health Department.

I'm just so frustrated! It seems like they wanted more restrictions and now it's too restricting! We're not trying to start full bakeries for heaven's sake. Why can't they just give us a break!

Sorry for the vent!

Jodie-thanks for spearheading this again and being so proactive!

Question: Now I know it is illegal to sell cakes made in my home in MD, so of course, being the law abiding citizen that I am, I do not participate in illegal cake trafficking! But I have a "friend" who makes cakes (at cost to herself) from her home and gifts them to people who have given her cake ingredients/supplies. Today she got a call from a friend wanting her to do a rather large cake 100-150 people for a corporate event. Anyone know what kind of trouble she could get into if trouble were to arise???

I had written to Delegate Love regarding any advice she might have for us--here's her response:

"Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. We are so extremely busy the snow set us back down here as it did everywhere. Mary Ann thinks it is a good idea for you to contact the Health Department and said if you need any assistance please let her know. She also suggested that you look at the voting list for HB 607 which is now on line to see just who supported the bill and who did not. If you cant bring up this information let me know and I will forward it to you.

Again, she said let her know if you need her assistance."

Well I read all of your reply djs (you can send me a virtual cookie ) and I think you put in writing everything I was thinking in response to the opposition letters.

When I started my little custom cake business (officially) in MD nearly 5 years ago I went through the whole process of getting an EIN, registering my tradename, and everything else. While I was at the courthouse filing the paperwork I spoke extensively with the people who are supposed to know the rules and regulations regarding licensing and was told that it was fine for me to bake and sell from my home as long as I was not storing products in my home as an inventory. A year or so later I was told that it was against regulation to do so. My hopes were squashed and I threw in the towel, but when it's your passion it's not something you can just walk away from, so I found other venues to exercise my addiction (culinary arts school, classes, etc.) but people kept coming to me wanting custom cakes and etc. So my husband and father suggested to me that I try renting a kitchen, well a family of 8 on 1 income does not yield enough disposable income to rent a restaurant kitchen. Then it was suggested to me that I find an kitchen incubator, church, shcool, or one of the parks and recreation kitchens to use and Bingo I found one. One of the Parks and Rec Centers had a beautiful (certified) kitchen that was under utilized and they were anxious to have someone come and make use of it. Besides me there would have only been a caterer renting the kitchen. Well just as I set myself up for the first round of baking the Dept of Health called the facility and informed them that the gentelman caterer and any other renters they had would have to vacate the premises because they were no longer allowing the rec center kitchens to be used by businesses. I was so hurt! I have had the rug pulled from under me several times. My little business not only serves my family well in this tough economy but it is my life's dream! If there is so much opposition to having at home baking and selling maybe there is some way that they can open up opportunities for Kitchen Incubators (like they have in other states like California) or ease the regulations on Church, School, and Rec. Center Kitchens so that small bakeries such as ours could make use of them when they are sitting idle, which could also generate revenue for the state not only through registration fees with the Dept of Health but also through kitchen rental fees (which by the way should be kept moderate). Just a thought and some miscellaneous ramblings from a frustrated pastry artist who needs a resolution to this problem to come more sooner than later.

P.S. I have had extensive conversations with the Dept. of Health in my area and not only were they not very knowlegable (I kept getting "who told you that? He/She told you that? They shouldn't have told you that can I have your number to call you back because I'm going to straighten this out right now"...and then I never hear from them again) but they were also very condesending and rude, which made the experience that much more painful!!!

I realized last week, while racking my brain about this whole mess, that I know someone who works for the State Dept. Mental Health & Hygiene...(DUH!) and I am emailing her to get her candid opinion about the situation, and see what she thinks might help the bill be looked upon more favorably next time around. Will let everyone know what I find out.

Thanks, Djs! I think that'll be helpful! I've been thinking alot on it recently, how to put together a better chance next time around!

Well, I totally understand what is happenning to you. I have found a kitchen that you can rent by the hour in Gaithersburg but I still don't know if it is worth it.

Well, I totally understand what is happenning to you. I have found a kitchen that you can rent by the hour in Gaithersburg but I still don't know if it is worth it.