Latest news with #HouseBill2683
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill would standardize food truck operations, inspections statewide
AUSTIN (KXAN) — A rally is planned at the Texas Capitol Wednesday to support a bill that proposes a unified permit system for food trucks across Texas. House Bill 2683 aims to simplify operations for food truck owners by eliminating the need for multiple permits and inspections across different cities and counties. Currently, food truck operators face varying regulations depending on their location, which can complicate business operations. Operating a food truck in Texas currently requires several permits, including a business license, a food handler's permit, a health department certification and a mobile vendor permit. Larger cities may also require a commissary agreement, which involves using an approved kitchen. Austin food truck scrambles to adjust its prices due to high cost of eggs In some cities, food trucks are subject to strict regulations, such as being prohibited from operating within 1,000 feet of a brick-and-mortar restaurant or having specific counter height requirements. Proponents of the bill argue these rules are barriers to business. 'This is just duplicative. This has nothing to do with health and safety,' said Phillip Suderman of Institute for Justice. The non profit public interest law firm works to make similar changes nationwide. 'It's not protecting food safety. It's not protecting fire safety. All it is is just creating this duplicate rules and make it more expensive for food trucks to operate.' Food trucks inspections, permitting may change under new city resolution Texas is home to the second highest number of food trucks in the United States, trailing only California, according to a study from Brigham Young University. The rally is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m., with supporters hoping to push the bill through before the legislative session ends in early June. All facts from this article were gathered by KXAN journalists. This article was converted into this format with assistance from artificial intelligence. It has been edited and approved by KXAN staff. Read about our approach to using AI tools. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
This bill could help food truck vendors statewide, here's how:
TEXAS (KMID/KPEJ)- The 89th Texas Legislative session is fully underway as the Texas House and Senate continue to decide what new laws will go into effect. Of the more than 6,000 bills that have been introduced this session so far, House Bill 2683 is the only one that will help the fast-growing food truck industry. 'What this does is it provides freedom for food truck operators in terms of the permitting process, especially in a place like ours here in the Permian Basin where you have multiple cities and multiple counties that a food truck may serve,' said state representative Brooks Landgraf. 'Rather than forcing those operators to get different permits in each jurisdiction that they're in, what if we just had one statewide permit that would allow them to operate legally and in compliance with certain health and safety regulations.' We recently sat down with Odessa city councilman, Craig Stoker. Who touched on the city's impact on local food truck vendors. Stoker Q&A What are the current city ordinances the city has in effect for food truck vendors? 'So right now, looking at the city ordinances, you've got about three different iterations that have been put together that are about three, five, and seven years old. And so what we're doing is looking at those and trying to decide, what role does the city have in enforcing any of it? What role does the county play? And what role should we play? So we are currently working with the fire marshal's office to make sure that what we're writing into the ordinance follows the international fire codes that the fire department follows.' What are your thoughts on House Bill 2683? 'It just makes sense… I've been in talks with some of the leaders in Midland about how we even come up with a Midland-Odessa super permit where if you're good in Midland, you're good in Odessa. I think that it gets the city out of the way of these small businesses and lets them operate.' What is the city doing to help out local food truck vendors? 'We will be hosting a town hall for the food truck owners. It'll come to council, so there'll be plenty of opportunity for feedback from the community.' WATCH: HB 2683 and it's impact on local food truck vendors Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
