Hello Everyone,

I am please to tell you that the Florida House of Representatives have created the Florida Cottage Food Act as a bill. This bill will be heard on Tuesday and then it goes to the next committee, than the senate and finally the Govenor. I attached the actual bill for you to read. The actual bill is on page 15 item 415. I reviewed a copy of this bill last week but was not able to say anything. Today Teddi Creamer called me to tell me the location of the bill and said it is now public. You can follow the action being taken on this bill on the house of representatives website. http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/default.aspx Go to Committees than to Business and Consumer Affairs, on the right hand side go to proposed committe bills (PBC) there you will find the bill that I attached. On this page is where you can watch as the bill progresses.

We all need to email the State Senate to let them know how important it is that they pass this bill, once they pass it than it will go to the govenor.

Thank you to everyone that has helped and supported me to get this action going. I am so happy I emailed the Speaker of the House because he was the one to help us make this happen.

Hang in there everyone, Florida will soon be the next state with The Cottage Food Act.

yeah! awesome!!

This is really exciting news, thank you so very much for keeping everyone informed.

(((((applause)))))
WOOO HOOO!!!! THANK YOU! We are on our way!

I am soooo happy for you!

Wonderful news!! I will be writing my Senator as well. I looked for the Bill but had a hard time figuring out which one it was.

Thanks so much for your dedication to this!! Awesome!!

If any of you are having a problem reading the bill this is what you need to do. Open the bill go to page 15. Line 415 starts the bill and will describe what will be required and what we are not required to do or have.

When the bill gets passed on to the other committees and to the senate they may make some adjustments. This could take another month or so for the bill to pass or fail. You can alway look at the House of Representative website to see what they are doing with the bill. I will also post updates for those of you are having problems understanding all this. I hope one day very soon I will be able to post we are legal. Write the senate express to them the importance of this bill, it helps people to supplement their income and the potential to start a growing business.

Thanks to all of you that helped.

Barbara

Good luck!!

Arizona is in this exact same process at the moment. Our bill has passed the House and is about to go into the 3rd reading of the Senate.


May I ask, why do they want to put a limit on how much people can make per year? The FL bill says $15,000, but why?


KimAZ

Hi KimAZ,

I'm not sure the exact reason for the $15,000 limit but, I would think that if you would make more than that you would out grow your home and move into either a commercial kitchen or open a retail store front and than would need to follow the laws for a "Food Establishment" and the "Cottage Food" law would not apply.

Yippee!!! I just sent an email to my friends and sent on to my reps. Wow. Thanks to you and all those that have been persistant with this.
EMily

I am so excited about this! As I will be moving to Florida soon! My mom is a Florida residenrso she has been emailing etc to help get this passed! I will definitely be keeping up with it! Thanks for all of your hard work!

krazyaboutcake: question about Section 23 (3) (c) and (d) at line 496.... food needs to be prepackaged and labelled with ingredients and weight....

i dont understand that part as it applies to cakes: as far as i have purchased local bakeries do not list all their ingredients. and they are not prepackaged.

is there somewhere i can read more about that? are there specifics regarding sinks or refrigeration?

part (6) laws on prep, processing, storing and sale...is that the same as covered in the food managers licensing class?

what is a hazardous? i think i had heard that whipped cream shouldnt be used, but i want to verify since i use that in some of my items.

so many questions. if anyone can direct me to some answers that would be awesome. TIA

Definitely good news to read about this bill. I also notice the $15,000.00 limit and it is definitely very low compare to Texas where I believe the limit is $150,000!
Thank you for posting the information about this bill. I'll continue reading about it.

Yeah!!!! Thanks Barbara for all your hard work. You have done all this teadious and strenous work for all of us. You deserve the a big, big applause!!

Second that bizcocho

Thank you so much!!!!

Is anyone else watching the House live right now? I missed some of it and was wondering if they already discussed the Cottage Food Law? If they have, how did it go? If not...I'm still watching and waiting!

are you watchingunder House broadcasts....where are you watching it from?

I was watching from here...http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/SessionLive/preview.aspx

It ended at 11:00am, but I did not hear anything mentioned about the Cottage Food Law.

I'm hoping the 15 minutes I missed (between 8:15 and 8:30) included it!

Anyone else watch and know?!

Any update? I found what I would call the minutes from the committee meeting but couldn't really understand if/what happened today.

Hello Everyonge,
Sorry I haven't updated right away, I work during the day and have been exhausted when I get home.

Here's the scoop my friends I will try to answer all your questions.

$15,000 max...more than that you should be busy enough to rent a commercial kitchen. It all depends how accurate your bookkeeping is. The state can request this information.

Ingredients labeled an packaged. I know some of use do not use a box for a cake when it is pickup or delivered but, don't you think it would is better to box the cake to protect it from all the elements in the air. Ever watch Cake Alchemy she always boxes up her cakes.

They want you to provide the ingredinants to protect you from law suits. If someone is allergic to eggs or nuts you are protected because you did disclose it.

We are exempt from any and all licensing, inspections and requirements of having 3 compartment sinks, kitchen separated from living quarters etc etc. Once your business grows than you will need to follow all the requirements under the Food Establishment law.

The state is trying to help you get started. They are not limiting us to any certain types of food. The only thing we can't do is sell on the internet, mail order or wholesale. We will be required to take a food safety class.

I hope I answered your questions we still have a little ways to go, it still needs to go for 2 more readings and than the senate. I have already contacted the President of the Senate and several other senators and they emailed me back with positive replys.

Happy Baking
Barbara

Barbara, I just want to say again how appreciative I am of all your work on this bill and your assistance with questions about the specifics!!! I am not even close to the point where I would consider selling cakes but it's nice to know that that transition would be more manageable when this bill passes.

Thank you Barbara for working so hard and keeping us updated! It looks like all the hard work is paying off.

I will be keeping my eye on this and emailing my senator(s) for their help as well. I am praying that this keeps moving in the right direction for us!

Thanks again!

This is so exciting!!! I'm so ready! If I got $15k in sales I'll be ready to get out of the house.

I emailed on Sunday. Is now the best time to email again or will it be a few weeks before they vote?

The selling on internet/mail order line....Does that mean you couldn't have a website for a business and take orders by email? I'm thinking of local people. Maybe I'm reading too much into it.

Thanks for the update!

Yes your reading too much, you can have a website.

The Cottage Food Bill has a number now HB 5007 so if you go to the website of the Florida House of Representatives you can look up this bill and follow it. It is currently going through other committees. The Bill# isn't just for the Cottage Food Act actually it is for several professions that the house is streamlining the requirements. So to see the requirements for the Cottage Food you need to scroll down the bill until you see "Cottage Food" the bill will state first how the law is currently and than it will tell you the changes they made. I hope this helps everyone understand what is happening I know it can be a little overwhelming.

Barbara

this is amazing, thank you so much!!!

OK, i am a little confused. Does the proposed bill only allow for baking within the home? Does it allow for preparation in the home and then sold in a retail establishment? I saw info on where products need to be stored, but I guess my question is where the products can be sold? I am waiting on pins and needles because I have an unbelievable opportunity to share a storefront in Longwood, Fl, but not sure how the bill may affect what I will be required to do to begin operations. HELP PLEASE!!!

Barbara
thank you for all you have done!
Now I might have a chance at having a small income.
Thank you again, God bless you!
CIAO

redvelvet4u,

The way I am understanding the bill is that you would be required to sell directly to the consumer, not through a retail establishment. I think you still have to bake in a licensed facility if you want to sell through retail store...correct me if I am wrong.

I was just checking out the bill online and I see there was some action on it yesterday but don't fully understand the process of when a bill gets passed. It says something about an effective date of July 1, 2011 but i am not sure if the bill passed. Here's the link
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=46689&SessionIndex=-1&SessionId=66&BillText=&BillNumber=&BillSponsorIndex=0&BillListIndex=0&BillStatuteText=&BillTypeIndex=12&BillReferredIndex=0&HouseChamber=H&BillSearchIndex=0

Does anyone understand it?