LA Eater: California’s Street Food Vendors Score Big with Latest Statewide Law
By Mona Holmes
On Friday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill to modernize state code and regulations surrounding street vending. Senate Bill 972 is a landmark law designed to make it easier for vendors to sell food on streets throughout the state. Long Beach state Sen. Lena Gonzalez authored SB 972, which is a massive update to the California Retail Food Code. The bill offers a more streamlined path to acquiring a permit and prohibits criminal penalties from health departments or law enforcement.
In 2018, former Gov. Jerry Brown signed the Safe Sidewalk Vending Act that decriminalized street vending. However, the bill required that street food vendors have equipment more in line with food trucks and catering businesses than pushcart operations, like fresh fruit or taco stands. Over the last year, street food vendors faced uncertain futures as the 20-year-old El Salvador Corridor street food market closed and city officials shut down the Avenue 26 night market in Lincoln Heights. Read more here.