More California street vendors can open shop under new law signed by Gavin Newsom
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law on Friday that will simplify the rules for street vendors to obtain health permits, easing bureaucratic barriers for taco stand and fruit cart owners.
The law, authored by Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, will lessen the equipment requirements, fees and design standards to push for more permitting among vendors. Senate Bill 972 will also remove criminal penalties for health code violations, replacing them with fines.
“It will allow street food vendors to take their rightful place in our food economy,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “Modernizing the California Retail Food Code to include them will benefit all of us. These micro-entrepreneurs are often low-income families, people of color and women of color, who will now be able to make a living in peace and contribute to the state’s economy as micro-entrepreneurs.”
In 2018, former Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law decriminalizing street vending practices, but the code was tailored toward larger mobile food operations like food trucks and catering operations.
Operators, regardless of size, were required to have costly equipment such as a three-basin sink and mechanical exhaust ventilation. They were also not allowed to slice fruit or reheat cooked food on unenclosed carts. That prohibited most taco stands and fruits carts—two of the most iconic street vending operations.
Advocates have long argued that the code needed modernization to include individuals with non-motorized operations. They pointed to the low number of permits as evidence that the rules were outdated.
Since 2018, only 165 of the estimated 10,000 sidewalk street vendors in Los Angeles obtained a permit, according to a 2021 study from the UCLA School of Law Community Economic Development Clinic and Public Counsel.
Opportunity for street vendors
The new law creates a separate category for pushcart vendors, allowing them to meet requirements with smaller and cheaper equipment. Additionally, street cart vendors will be able to cut fruit or reheat previously cooked food.
The previous rules weren’t set up for pushcart vendors, said Carolina Martinez, CEO of CAMEO, an organization that backed the bill. Martinez said the new law will remove systemic barriers to starting a business and further economic opportunity for people of color.
“California’s existing regulatory system was often too expensive and complicated for street vendors to obtain necessary permits – leaving them vulnerable to fines or even arrest….Under SB 972, street vendors will be able to conduct business without fear of repercussions and reach their full economic potential,” said Martinez.
Opponents criticized the law, saying it would diminish local government’s ability to regulate street vending. They pushed for more requirements around labeling, sanitation, and food safety.
California businesses wanted local control
Randall Scott, executive director of the Fisherman’s Wharf Community Benefit District in San Francisco, said any new legislation needed to retain the local level of control.
“They continue to offer no provisions for local authorities to be able to protect public spaces from being overwhelmed,” said Scott. “Again, SB 946 was good intentions, bad legislation. SB 972 just made the situation worse. The honest hard working people working their carts in earnest to put food on the table will be overrun by the gangs and illegal organizations who know how exploit the law. “
Newsom announced signing SB 972, along with several other bills that aim to support immigrants including Assembly Bill 1766 which will allow undocumented residents to get California identification cards. The cards are intended for people who are non-drivers, and are not able to use a driver’s license as identification. Undocumented Californians already are able to obtain a driver’s license.
“California is expanding opportunity for everyone, regardless of immigration status,” said Newsom in a statement. “We’re a state of refuge – a majority-minority state, where 27 percent of us are immigrants. That’s why I’m proud to announce the signing of today’s bills to further support our immigrant community, which makes our state stronger every single day.”
This story was originally published September 23, 2022 at 4:16 PM with the headline "More California street vendors can open shop under new law signed by Gavin Newsom."
