Government
BY EMILY LINCKE & NICHAELA SHAHEEN
Roadside vendors, food trucks face new rules under new laws
Breaking down the bills In August, Montgomery County commissioners adopted an ordinance regulating roadside vendors and solicitors, in accordance with House Bill 2012.
Two bills passed by the Texas Legislature—that went into effect Sept. 1—could change the New Caney-area for the better, local stakeholders said. In a nutshell A ban on roadside vendors in unincorporated areas of Montgomery County was passed by county commissioners Aug. 26. The rule followed Texas lawmakers’ passage of House Bill 2012, which allows counties to curb roadside soliciting. According to Montgomery County’s ordinance, the goal is to address traffic and safety hazards caused when drivers engage with roadside solici- tors. Montgomery County Precinct 4 Commissioner Matt Gray championed the ban to give law enforce- ment the tools needed to prevent unsafe roadway situations, Precinct 4 Chief of Staff Josh Pascua said via email Sept. 24. The rules will also prevent puppy mills, and other live animal sellers, from operating at roadsides, he added.
Zooming in Another bill—House Bill 2844—requires all permits and food truck inspections to be performed by the state health department instead of by local entities. The bill aims to help small business owners by making regulations consistent statewide, accord- ing to documents included with the bill via Texas Legislature Online. “Both HB 2844 and HB 2012 advance [the chamber’s] vision—particularly HB 2012, given its potential to enhance the look, feel and safety of our community,” said Mark Linabury, president and CEO of the Greater East Montgomery County Chamber, via email Sept. 26. Stay tuned The impact of HB 2844 is uncertain, because the bill didn’t include logistics, said Scott Nichols, Montgomery County’s Environmental Health Services department director, via email Oct. 2.
HB 2012
HB 2844
Allows counties to enforce regulations against roadside or parking lot vendors Can restrict people asking for money or selling food or merchandise, including animals, along roadways
State health department to
inspect food trucks, instead of individual counties or cities Food trucks are no longer required to operate out of a central commercial kitchen
SOURCES: TEXAS LEGISLATURE ONLINE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY PRECINCT 4/COMMUNITY IMPACT
“The state health department was not pre- pared and [is] still not prepared to take this on,” Nichols said. “I continue to have conversations regarding the logistics for this.”
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