SB 250: Food Truck Freedom

This Bill passed the Senate 23-1 and the House 73-0.

Libertas Institute supports this bill.

In a public policy brief late last year, we outlined the many regulatory burdens faced by food truck owners throughout Utah as a result of duplicative and redundant ordinances and fees required of them by city governments.

To respond to this concern, Senator Deidre Henderson has sponsored Senate Bill 250, which would streamline these regulations, eliminate redundancy, and prohibit problematic city regulations.

Specifically, this bill would:

  • establish a reciprocity system so food truck owners don’t have to obtain a business license in each city in which they desire to operate;
  • prohibit cities from establishing protectionist boundaries around restaurants in which food trucks are denied the opportunity to operate;
  • prohibit cities from denying a business license for a food truck on the basis of the applicant’s criminal history;
  • require that counties honor health and fire permits issued in other counties; and
  • streamline event permits and other regulations.

This is a great start towards freeing up the market for food truck owners who currently struggle to succeed.