_In 2011 a cottage foods bill was introduced into the State Senate and passed, but got hung up in the House long enough to be victimized by the close of session. Like last year, the bill does not allow selling pickles, acidulated foods and dairy, but one can sell eggs.  Even though these conditions may not be pleasing to all, but having such a bill passed is a step forward.

This year's bill has been modified slightly, and the State Senate Agriculture Committee approved the bill by a 5-1 vote on January 26. Senator Grantham offered an amendment to up the cap to last year's $5000 per item which was accepted. The one NO vote was from Senator Harvey who objected to the government telling producers they had to list ingredients/put labels on their goods.  The ones who testified for the bill had no opportunity to tell him that many us wouldn't buy something without a label.  Senator Schwartz did not accept that amendment.  Senator Brody was concerned about the requirement for liabilty insurance, especially since the best estimate anyone had gotten was $300 to $500 per year, and the testifiers were told a comprehensive farm policy would not cover this.  Senator Schwartz accepted a "conceptual amendment" changing "must" to "should" and giving time to come up with other wording before second reading on the floor of the Senate.

Contact Monica Wiitanen for updates and next steps.