Senate Bill S537B

                                BILL NUMBER:S537

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the general business law, in relation to establishing fees for
mobile food vendors; and providing for
the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof

PURPOSE:
This bill will place an annual cap on the amount of fees a
municipality can charge on mobile food trucks and mobile food truck
vendors.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends section 391 of the general business law by adding a
new section S that establishes that no municipality, other than a
city with a population of one million or more, may charge a mobile
food vendor an annual fee of more than two hundred fifty dollars per
mobile vending vehicle.

Section 1 also defines mobile food vendors as any person who hawks,
peddles, sells, or offers food for sale at retail in any public space
and such food items are presented to the public in a mobile vehicle,
such as, but not limited to, a pushcart, car, van, or truck.

Additionally, Section 1 excludes any person who is solely
              

delivering food that has been previously ordered and purchased from
an established retail location.

Section 2 provides that this act shall take effect immediately and
shall sunset after two years.

JUSTIFICATION:
Food trucks are a growing industry throughout the state. This
legislation imposes a statewide cap of $250 on the annual fees a
municipality can charge (excluding New York City). Many local towns,
villages and cities currently impose heavily inflated fees on these
small businesses, which limits their growth potential and mobility.

Food truck licensing fees vary across the state, but often far
outweigh fees charged on brick and mortar restaurants, sometimes by
hundreds of dollars. Because they are a new and quickly growing
industry, municipalities often develop regulations and fee schedules
from scratch and without comparison or consultation with their peers
throughout the state.

To curb this, and to set in place a more uniform standard for food
trucks, this legislation limits the amount of annual fees to $250. In
Cleveland, mobile food vendors pay a $100 permit fee and food truck
managers must purchase a $60 identification badge from the city.
Chicago, a city with a population of 2.7 million, charges $660 for a
two-year permit.

In comparison, the City of Buffalo currently charges mobile food truck
vendors a fee of $1,000, far above the national norm and prohibitive
to the growth and expansion of this industry. This cap is both


necessary and practical, affording this growing industry the ability
to reach its full potential across the state.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2012: S.7860 Referred to Rules

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be deemed
repealed two years after such effective date.

                                BILL NUMBER:S537A

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the general business law, in relation
to establishing fees for mobile food vendors; and providing for the
repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof

PURPOSE:

This bill will place an annual cap on the amount of fees
municipalities in Erie County can charge on mobile food trucks and
mobile food truck vendors.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 391 of the general business law by adding a
new section s that establishes that municipalities in Erie County may
not charge a mobile food vendor an annual fee of more than two hundred
fifty dollars per mobile vending vehicle.

Section 1 also defines mobile food vendors as any person who hawks,
peddles, sells, or offers food for sale at retail in any public space
and such food items are presented to the public in a mobile vehicle,
such as, but not limited to, a pushcart, car, van, or truck.

Additionally, Section 1 excludes any person who is solely delivering
food that has been previously ordered and purchased from an
              

established retail location.

Section 2 provides that this act shall take effect immediately and
shall sunset after two years.

JUSTIFICATION:

Food trucks are a growing industry throughout the state, particularly
in Western New York. This legislation imposes a cap of $250 on the
annual fees a municipality in Erie County can charge. Many local
towns, villages and cities currently impose heavily inflated fees on
these small businesses, which limits their growth potential and
mobility.

Food truck licensing fees vary across the state, but often far
outweigh fees charged on brick and mortar restaurants, sometimes by
hundreds of dollars. Because they are a new and quickly growing
industry, municipalities often develop regulations and fee schedules
from scratch and without comparison or consultation with their peers
throughout the state.

To curb this, and to set in place a more uniform standard for food
trucks, this legislation limits the amount of annual fees in Erie
County to $250. In Cleveland, mobile food vendors pay a $100 permit
fee and food truck managers must purchase a $60 identification badge
from the city_ Chicago, a city with a population of 2.7 million,
charges $660 for a two-year permit.

In comparison, the City of Buffalo currently charges mobile food truck
vendors a fee of $1,000, far above the national norm and prohibitive
to the growth and expansion of this industry. This cap is both


necessary and practical, affording this growing industry the ability
to reach its full potential.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2012: S.7860 Referred to Rules

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the state.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be deemed
repealed two years after such effective date.