Home bakery in AZ - Page 2

PLEASE, PLEASE send a letter or email to Rep Kavanaugh of the House of Representatives. jkavanagh@azleg.gov or
House of Representatives
1700 W. Washington
Room 114
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Phone Number: (602) 926-5170

He is the one sponsoring this bill. As is Will Humble who is the director of the Arizona Dept of Health Services. Both of these men have spoken directly in front of the board/panel are are very pro this bill.

The more people we can get behind them, the better! Here is a copy of the bill as of now. Scroll down to page 4 for the highlighted section in blue.

http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/50leg/1r/bills/hb2103h.pdf

If half of the United States already has a food cottage law, and they do....certainly Arizona should be next in line!!!

KimAZ

Hi Kim,

You should start a new thread about this bill. We might get more viewers, and assistance, if you have a thread with a more eye catching title, such as, "New Arizona Bill for Home Bakers - Help needed" or something like that.

Do you have the names of the senate members of the Third Reading? I want to contact them all, even the ones that are against the bill, to let them know this is something they need to vote yes on - it couldn't hurt, and maybe some might even change their No vote to a Yes.

Again, thank you for taking the lead on this issue. I don't want to get my hopes up, but after viewing how the votes are going our way, so far, it feels very promising.

Kim,

I forgot to ask... Did you send an email/letter to Rep Kavanaugh? If yes, do you have a copy that we can use as a template? I just want to get an idea of what I should say.

Thank you.

Sounds good to me I will definitely be doing that too!

I posted the link above to the info on the bill that I'm aware of right now. If you look there are links to all the names of senators on that page.
http://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp?Body=S

In the letter I wrote to Rep Kavanaugh I just stated that I fully support this bill, would love to see it pass as myself and so many other cake decorators would love to be able to make a little extra income from home. I specifically said I am a cake decorator too. I want to be sure that the word " confectionary" as it is in the bill now will mean more than just candy.

Just say what comes from your heart. I also mentioned that half of the United States already has this law in effect and there are no major problems or outbreaks of food borne illness from any one of them. Arizona would love this opportunity as well!

I'll start a new thread and link this one so everyone can see what's going on.

KimAZ

Thanks Kim.

I don't know how I missed it (guess I'm getting old).

I will send an email to each member on the list.

Do you run into issues with cottage food laws and venues? I know that cottage food laws make it legal to bake in your home kitchen, but most aren't inspected and you have to mark your products as having come from an unlicensed kitchen. Many venues don't allow products from unlicensed kitchens.

I would love for the cottage laws to pass in AZ as I am moving to the Scottsdale area in August and this would mean that I could get my business up and going without having to rent kitchen space, but I wonder about how to get around the fact that you are technically still unlicensed even though it is legal.

lilmissbakesalot - I've only heard of a few venues that require prof of a business license, but I never ran into one of them. I've only made a few wedding cakes, so I might now be the best example.

I just wanted to post a copy of the letter I emailed to each senate member.


Dear Senate Member,

Im writing in regards to HB2103 sponsored by Representative Kavanaugh and Will Humble of the Arizona Department of Health Services.

I can not express how much I hope you vote YES on this bill.

A few years ago, I started making cakes for my friends, and friends of friends. I didnt make very many cakes, but maybe three or four a month. I already had a full-time job as a corporate accountant, and enjoy that position far too much to quit and become a full-time baker. For about a year I was happily oblivious to the fact that making cakes at home and then selling them to my friends was illegal in the State of Arizona - even if you only received a few dollars to cover the cost of supplies. So, needless to say, I was extremely disappointed with this new information. For a short time I entertained the idea of renting a kitchen, but soon found out that it would cost too much for the few cakes I made each month.

Ive always understood why the law was in place for people making actual food out of their home to be sold to the public, but I never understood why consumables such as cakes, cookies, and candies were grouped into the same category. Ive never even heard of anyone getting sick from eating cake-Have you?

There are currently 19 states that have Food Cottage laws: Arkansas, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming. They found that bakery products and some other foods like jams, jellies, dried herbs, granola, and candy, are considered low-risk for spoilage, because they are not able to support the growth of potentially harmful organisms and do not require refrigeration. These foods are known as non-potentially hazardous. These states generally report very few, if any, complaints or incidences of food-borne illness originating from non-potentially hazardous foods prepared in residential kitchens.

These are a few states that are currently considering Cottage Food Laws: Florida, New Jersey, South Dakota, and Washington State.

With the state of the economy, passing this bill would generate income not only for the person selling the product, but would also increase the States revenue. The baker would need to purchase a business license, a food handlers card, and pay income tax on all items sold.

Thank you for taking the time to read my side of this issue, and why I feel its important for you to vote YES on HB2103.

Sincerely,
Tammy XXXXXX
Former Cake Artist

That's certainly good to know. I live in NH right now and they license residential kitchens for non-hazardous foods and was a bit bummed at the news about AZ not allowing it. I will be hoping for you (and eventually me... LOL) that the bill passes.

ok so I have been following along with the bill and its ALMOST THERE!!!!! I googled how a bill is turned into a law and according to that the bill has one more reading to pass and then it will be passed to the Governor to be signed. At this moment I dont know when the next reading will be it hasnt shown up in the Senate Calendar yet.... Everyone cross your fingers

You are right! The next time they meet will be for the vote in Senate.

There is another thread I'm keeping updated too called Arizona Food Cottage bill.


KimAZ

When this gets passed I could save $225.00 a year only having to have a health card! hummmmmm interesting.

Kim...where does it stand now?

The bill passed the 3rd reading in the Senate today! Woohoo!! Now it goes back to the House for final approval then on to the Govenor.


Keep your fingers crossed!

KimAZ

Kim, where are you getting your info for this? I am so excited! This means I can put off the expense and headache of trying to find a kitchen to rent! At least for now.