Bill Text: NY A07787 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the home kitchen enterprise and economic opportunity act; relates to the licensing and operation of home kitchen operations which store, handle, prepare and package ready-to-eat food for consumers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to agriculture [A07787 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A07787-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7787 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY May 21, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. CRUZ -- read once and referred to the Committee on Agriculture AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to the licensing of home kitchen operations The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "home kitchen enterprise and economic opportunity act". 3 § 2. Legislative intent. Every day, New Yorkers are using their 4 skills, talents and creativity to build home kitchen-based businesses to 5 provide unique, quality food products, increasingly sourced using local 6 ingredients for direct sale to consumers, farmers markets and other 7 retail outlets. By practicing and perfecting their products, many of 8 these craft culinary enterprises have succeeded and grown into thriving 9 and vibrant small businesses, creating jobs and supporting local econo- 10 mies and local farmers. It is the legislature's intent that home kitch- 11 en-based food entrepreneurs should be supported and encouraged in their 12 efforts. Homemade food businesses can create significant economic oppor- 13 tunities for New Yorkers that need them most--including women, immi- 14 grants, and people of color, who have historically faced barriers to 15 labor force participation and entrepreneurship and many of whom have 16 lost employment in the food industry as a result of the COVID-19 pandem- 17 ic. The home kitchen enterprise and economic opportunity act modernizes 18 regulations impacting these enterprises and reduces artificial barriers 19 to business growth, while preserving food safety and public health. 20 § 3. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new arti- 21 cle 22-A to read as follows: 22 ARTICLE 22-A 23 HOME KITCHEN OPERATIONS 24 Section 265. Definitions. 25 266. Licenses; fees. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10458-03-1A. 7787 2 1 267. Sales, delivery, disclosure. 2 268. Rules and regulations. 3 269. Inspections. 4 270. Information on tax compliance. 5 § 265. Definitions. 1. "Home kitchen operation" means an enterprise 6 in a private home that is controlled and operated by a resident that 7 stores, handles, prepares and packages food for consumers and that meets 8 all of the following conditions: 9 (a) all food sold or otherwise provided to consumers by the home 10 kitchen operation is ready-to-eat food; and 11 (b) does not produce: alcoholic beverages; milk or milk products; 12 food items containing raw shellfish; any food that requires a hazard 13 analysis and critical control point plan under applicable federal, state 14 or local law; and any low-acid canned food or acidified food that 15 requires a scheduled process under applicable federal, state or local 16 law. 17 A home kitchen operation does not include a processor of home-pro- 18 cessed food operating under an exemption from licensing pursuant to 19 article twenty-C of this chapter authorized by the commissioner, a food 20 service establishment, temporary food service establishment, caterer, or 21 residential group home facility. 22 2. "Licensed area" means the kitchen of a private home and any other 23 area of the home used for the preparation, packaging, storage, handling 24 or sanitation of food, equipment, and utensils used in the home kitchen 25 operation, including refuse and toilet areas. 26 3. "Ready-to-eat food" means food that is in a form that is edible 27 and safe to eat without washing, cooking or additional preparation by 28 the consumer and that is reasonably expected to be consumed in the form 29 in which it is provided to the consumer or after reheating by the 30 consumer. 31 § 266. Licenses; fees. 1. No person shall maintain or operate a home 32 kitchen operation unless licensed by the commissioner. Application for a 33 license to operate a home kitchen operation shall be made upon a form 34 prescribed by the commissioner. The commissioner may require a licensee 35 to renew the license annually. 36 2. A license, once issued, shall be nontransferable. A license shall 37 be valid only for the person and location specified by such license and, 38 unless suspended or revoked for cause, for the time period indicated. 39 3. The license, or an accurate copy thereof, shall be retained by the 40 operator onsite and made available upon request to a representative of 41 the department. 42 4. The applicant for a home kitchen operation license shall submit to 43 the commissioner written standard operating procedures that include all 44 of the following information: 45 (a) a list of all food types or products that will be handled; 46 (b) proposed procedures and methods of food preparation and handling; 47 (c) procedures, methods, and schedules for cleaning utensils and 48 equipment and for the disposal of refuse; 49 (d) how food will be maintained at safe holding temperatures pending 50 pickup by consumers or during delivery; 51 (e) days and times that the home kitchen may be used as a home kitchen 52 operation. The stated days and times shall be for information purposes 53 and not binding on the licensee. 54 5. The commissioner shall issue a license after an initial inspection 55 has determined that the proposed home kitchen operation and its methodA. 7787 3 1 of operation comply with the requirements of this article. The initial 2 inspection may be conducted remotely via videoconference technology. 3 6. The commissioner shall provide the operator the opportunity to 4 update the food types and products handled without requiring the opera- 5 tor to submit a new license application. 6 7. The commissioner may charge a license fee not to exceed one hundred 7 seventy-five dollars. 8 8. The commissioner may decline to grant a new license, may decline to 9 renew a license, and may suspend or revoke a license already granted 10 after due notice and opportunity for hearing whenever he or she finds 11 that: 12 (a) any statement contained in an application for a license is or was 13 false or misleading; 14 (b) the home kitchen operation does not have facilities or equipment 15 sufficient to maintain adequate sanitation for the activities conducted; 16 (c) the home kitchen operation is not maintained in a clean and sani- 17 tary condition or is not operated in a sanitary manner; 18 (d) the maintenance and operation of the home kitchen operation is 19 such that the food produced therein is or may be adulterated; 20 (e) the home kitchen operation has failed or refused to produce any 21 records or provide any information demanded by the commissioner reason- 22 ably related to the administration and enforcement of this article; or 23 (f) the home kitchen operation has failed to comply with any of the 24 provisions of this article or rules and regulations promulgated pursuant 25 thereto. 26 § 267. Sales, delivery, disclosure. 1. Home kitchen operations may 27 sell or otherwise provide food directly to consumers only and not to any 28 food reseller. Home kitchen operations may not sell or deliver their 29 food to consumers outside New York. 30 2. Home kitchen operations may sell food to consumers in person or 31 remotely by telephone, email or internet website, including through a 32 third-party's internet website or mobile application. Food from a home 33 kitchen operation may be delivered to consumers by the operator, by an 34 employee or agent of the operator, or by a third-party delivery service. 35 3. Home kitchen operations shall provide the following information to 36 the consumer in a clear and conspicuous manner on a label affixed to 37 food that is sold in a package or container, on a sign at the point of 38 sale if the food is not sold in a package or container, and on any 39 webpage or mobile application where the food can be ordered: 40 (a) the name, license number, and telephone number of the home kitchen 41 operation that prepared the food; 42 (b) the common or usual name of the food item; 43 (c) if a food item contains more than one ingredient, a list of its 44 ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight; and 45 (d) the following statement: "Made in a home kitchen." 46 § 268. Rules and regulations. 1. By no later than December thirty- 47 first, two thousand twenty-two, the commissioner shall promulgate rules 48 and regulations to implement this article. Such rules and regulations 49 may include provisions relating to licensing of home kitchen operations, 50 hygiene, sanitation, approved sources of food, training and recordkeep- 51 ing. 52 2. The regulations promulgated pursuant to subdivision one of this 53 section shall include requirements for sanitation in home kitchen oper- 54 ations that shall: 55 (a) apply only to the licensed operations and licensed area of the 56 home;A. 7787 4 1 (b) be reasonably necessary to ensure food safety and reasonably 2 feasible for ordinary home kitchen facilities; 3 (c) not require home kitchen operations to have or to use facilities 4 or equipment not ordinarily used in private homes; and 5 (d) not prevent or restrict persons who live in the home and their 6 guests from accessing and being present in the licensed area while food 7 for the home kitchen operation is being stored, handled, prepared or 8 packaged, so long as such persons are supervised by the licensed opera- 9 tor and not known to have symptoms of acute gastrointestinal illness or 10 to be infected with a disease that is transmissible through food. 11 3. If food safety training is required, the commissioner shall ensure 12 that the training content and any required examination are available in 13 languages other than English that are commonly spoken by New York resi- 14 dents as their primary language. 15 4. Regulations adopted by the commissioner may require that home 16 kitchen operations comply with retail food store sanitation regulations, 17 provided that home kitchen operations shall be exempt from any require- 18 ments that do not meet the criteria of subdivision two of this section. 19 5. A home kitchen operation shall comply with the rules and regu- 20 lations adopted by the commissioner under this article. 21 6. The regulations promulgated pursuant to subdivision one of this 22 section shall include the requirement that the licensing application, 23 such application's instructions and all guidance shall be available in 24 multiple languages in compliance with the statewide language access 25 policy pursuant to executive order number twenty-six of two thousand 26 eleven. 27 § 269. Inspections. 1. After the initial inspection for purposes of 28 determining license eligibility, a home kitchen operation shall be 29 subject to inspections only in the following three circumstances: 30 (a) Not more than once in any twelve-month period, the department may 31 conduct a routine inspection for the purpose of observing the operator 32 engaged in the usual activities of a home kitchen operation, including, 33 but not limited to, active food preparation. The department shall 34 provide notice to an operator before a routine inspection and shall 35 conduct the routine inspection at a mutually agreeable date and time. 36 This paragraph shall not be deemed to require the department to conduct 37 a routine inspection. 38 (b) A for-cause inspection may be conducted when the department has a 39 valid reason, such as a credible consumer complaint, to suspect that 40 adulterated or otherwise unsafe food has been produced by the home 41 kitchen operation or that the home kitchen operation has otherwise been 42 in violation of this article. The department shall provide notice to an 43 operator before conducting a for-cause inspection and shall conduct the 44 inspection at a mutually agreeable date and time. 45 (c) If the department has just cause to believe that the home kitchen 46 operation poses a serious hazard or immediate threat to public health, 47 the department may conduct an emergency inspection that is limited to 48 the facts prompting the inspection. The department shall provide the 49 operator with advance notice of an emergency inspection to the extent 50 that it is reasonable to do so under the circumstances. 51 2. The department may inspect only the licensed area of the home 52 kitchen operation for the purpose of enforcing or administering this 53 article. 54 § 270. Information on tax compliance. The department shall provide the 55 licensee, upon licensure, information regarding the New York state 56 department of taxation and finance's business tax trainings and dead-A. 7787 5 1 lines in multiple languages in compliance with the statewide language 2 access policy pursuant to executive order number twenty-six of two thou- 3 sand eleven. 4 § 4. Subdivision 3 of section 251-z-2 of the agriculture and markets 5 law, as amended by chapter 507 of the laws of 1973, is amended to read 6 as follows: 7 3. The term "food processing establishment" means any place which 8 receives food or food products for the purpose of processing or other- 9 wise adding to the value of the product for commercial sale. It 10 includes, but is not limited to, bakeries, processing plants, beverage 11 plants and food manufactories. However, the term does not include: those 12 establishments that process and manufacture food or food products that 13 are sold exclusively at retail for consumption on the premises; home 14 kitchen operations licensed by the commissioner under section two 15 hundred sixty-six of this chapter; those operations which cut meat and 16 sell such meat at retail on the premises; bottled and bulk water facili- 17 ties; those food processing establishments which are covered by articles 18 four, four-a, five-a, five-b, five-c, five-d, seventeen-b, nineteen, 19 [twenty-b,] and twenty-one of this chapter; service food establishments, 20 including vending machine commissaries, under permit and inspection by 21 the state department of health or by a local health agency which main- 22 tains a program certified and approved by the state commissioner of 23 health; establishments under federal meat, poultry or egg product 24 inspection; or establishments engaged solely in the harvesting, storage, 25 or distribution of one or more raw agricultural commodities which are 26 ordinarily cleaned, prepared, treated or otherwise processed before 27 being marketed to the consuming public. 28 § 5. Subdivision 1 of section 500 of the agriculture and markets law, 29 as amended by section 8 of part I1 of chapter 62 of the laws of 2003, is 30 amended to read as follows: 31 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms 32 shall have the following meanings: 33 (a) "Food service establishment" means any place where food is 34 prepared and intended for individual portion service, and includes the 35 site at which individual portions are provided, whether consumption 36 occurs on or off the premises, or whether or not there is a charge for 37 the food. The term does not include a home kitchen operation licensed 38 by the commissioner under section two hundred sixty-six of this chapter. 39 (b) "Retail food store" means any establishment or section of an 40 establishment where food and food products are offered to the consumer 41 and intended for off-premises consumption. The term does not include 42 home kitchen operations licensed by the commissioner under section two 43 hundred sixty-six of this chapter, establishments which handle only 44 pre-packaged, non-potentially hazardous foods, roadside markets that 45 offer only fresh fruits and fresh vegetables for sale, food service 46 establishments, or food and beverage vending machines. 47 (c) "Zone" means an administratively determined geographic portion of 48 the state to which inspectors are assigned by the department. 49 (d) "Food warehouse" shall mean any food establishment in which food 50 is held for commercial distribution. 51 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
