Existing law requires a local board of health in a county whose population is 100,000 or more (currently Clark and Washoe Counties) or a city in a county whose population is 100,000 or more to adopt regulations governing sidewalk vendors of food. (NRS 446.861) Sections 3-5 of this bill define certain terms relating to sidewalk vendors. Section 7 of this bill requires a local board of health to: (1) develop and update certain guidance documents explaining the requirements of existing regulations adopted by the local board of health governing sidewalk vendors; (2) make certain documents available on the Internet website of the local board of health in more than one language; (3) conduct outreach regarding certain provisions of existing regulations relating to sidewalk vendors; and (4) conduct workshops and informational sessions relating to existing regulations governing sidewalk vendors. Section 8 of this bill requires a local board of health to establish a task force to advise the local board of health on issues relating to the regulation of sidewalk vendors. Section 6 of this bill limits the applicability of sections 7-9 to a local board of health in a county whose population is 100,000 or more or a city in a county whose population is 100,000 or more. Section 13 of this bill requires a local board of health to adopt regulations governing sidewalk vendors of food, including requirements relating to: (1) the plans for the design of a conveyance and the types of conveyances that may be used by a sidewalk vendor; (2) performing food preparation in certain kitchens; (3) the use of sinks, water tanks and water heaters by a sidewalk vendor; and (4) the storage of a conveyance in a private home. Section 9 of this bill requires a local board of health to: (1) enter into contracts and other legal agreements with manufacturers of conveyances to provide for the purchase of a conveyance, the design of which complies with the plans approved by the local board of health, by a person seeking to operate as a sidewalk vendor; and (2) establish a process to preapprove such a person and preapprove certain food items sold from such a conveyance. Existing law defines the term “food establishment” for the purposes of existing law relating to food establishments and sets forth certain exceptions from the definition. (NRS 446.020) Section 12 of this bill exempts from the definition of “food establishment” any establishment in which only whole produce or prepackaged food which is not a potentially hazardous food is sold or offered or displayed for sale and, as a result of this change, such an establishment is not subject to the existing requirements governing food establishments. Existing law provides that a cottage food operation that meets certain requirements and sells certain food items, including nuts and nut mixes, candies, jams, jellies and preserves and certain baked goods is not a food establishment and is thus exempt from various requirements governing food establishments. (NRS 446.020, 446.866) Section 4 of this bill defines “cottage food operation” for the purposes of this exemption to include a natural person who operates as a sidewalk vendor and sells, prepares or manufactures food items for sale from a conveyance to a natural person and whose gross sales of such food items are not more than $35,000 per calendar year. Section 10 of this bill provides that a cottage food operation is not a food establishment for the purposes of existing law governing food establishments if the food items sold by the cottage food operation meet certain requirements, including that: (1) the food item must be sold from a conveyance and require no food preparation or limited food preparation on the conveyance by the natural person selling the food item; and (2) the food item must be prepared on the conveyance for immediate service, prepackaged by the natural person for sale from the conveyance or purchased prepackaged and sold in the original packaging from the conveyance. Section 10 further sets forth the types of food items that such a cottage food operation may sell. Sections 11 and 14 of this bill move and reorganize existing requirements governing cottage food operations and apply such requirements to cottage food operations that meet the requirements of section 10. Section 2 of this bill applies the definitions in sections 3-5 to the provisions of existing law relating to food establishments.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 446.020, 446.861, 446.866
BDR: 446.020, 446.861, 446.866