Although many cities throughout the state have legalized street vendors, sidewalk food vendors continue to operate informally because the vast majority have not been able to obtain their health permits.
This week the Senate Public Health Committee approved the SB bill 900 by Long Beach Democratic Senator Lena Gonzalez proposing changes that resolve the complex web of requirements that hamper the ability of street vendors to access permits and purchase an accessible, lightweight cart , of little weight.
Basically it would incorporate the diverse variety of street vendors into the health permit system and the local economies; and would create the category “compact food facilities”, which would authorize state agencies to develop standardized food vending carts for sidewalks, making it easier for them to work legally, and safely.
Senator González is the author of this measure that was approved with 9 votes in favor, one abstention and one vote against in the Senate public health committee.
“For too long, street food vendors have been subjected to an endless cycle of criminalization and poverty, due to outdated requirements that make food vending permits inaccessible”.
It is time – he said – to create a more equitable food economy that includes street vendors.
Added that we must ensure we create a clear, fair and equitable path for food permits that protects public health and safety, as well as the livelihood of thousands of low-income individuals, people of color, and women in our state .
In 2018, was signed into law, a measure by then-Senator Ricardo Lara that decriminalized street sales in California so that they would no longer be repeatedly and heavily fined or arrested for selling on the street .
“What this law did was prevent vendors from being criminalized, but what we are trying to do now with the SB measure 900 is to remove barriers so that street vendors can obtain their health permits,” said lawyer Juan Espinoza of the organization Public Counsel, who has worked with the panel of expert vendors in the design of the law.
“Several years after the decriminalization of street sales, very few vendors have managed to obtain their health permits, and continue to operate in the informality”.
He explained that under the current food sales code, there is no they cannot sell hot meals or cut fruits in the cart.
“They are also forced to prepare their food in police stations that are private and very expensive.”
On the other hand, he said that to obtain a health permit, they have to have a cart made that costs between $18, and $30,000. “And it has to be approved by the Ministry of Health and built by manufacturers that are on a list that they provide.”
As a consequence of all these requirements that were created more for restaurants and hotels , very few vendors have obtained health permits.
“The result is that under Ricardo Lara’s law they can no longer be arrested, but their merchandise continues to be seized and confiscated.”
Street vendors Merlin Alvarado and César Benítez went to the Capitol to testify about the multiple challenges they have experienced to obtain permits to sell food.
“This has been a long battle. We have faced many obstacles over the years in an effort to navigate a disorienting bureaucratic process that was written without vendors in mind,” said Merlin Alvarado, who has been a fruit and hot dog vendor in Hollywood for 16 years.
He added that the approval vote in the Senate means moving towards the next step to legitimize small businesses.
“It is a step forward to work and provide for my family in an environment of peace, without fear and with dignity, because behind each iconic umbrella that come with a street vendor underneath, there is a family that sustains itself through hard work.”
César Benítez, who also gave his testimony at the State Capitol, has been selling fresh water in the city of Commerce for 3 years, and you’ve been stuck in the process of getting a permit; and in a dead end with the manufacturer of his cart whom he paid $3, in advance.
“It’s been almost two years and I haven’t received my cart. They made me a cart to sell ice cream and fruit. I told them that it did not correspond to the plans of the cart that I need; and from there they have brought me round and round with the promise to deliver it to me in 15 days. That has already been more than a year”, he said.
In total, his cart was going to cost him $14,000. For now, the manufacturer does not want to return the $3,000 of the advance.
“We didn’t realize when we signed the contract, that in fine print it says that the advance money is no longer returned”.
The problem, he explained, is that street vendors can only have their carts manufactured by businesses provided by the Department of Health.
César says that he has continued to sell his fresh waters without a health permit, which has caused inspectors to come and seize their fresh waters. “They continue to harass us, no matter that it is not our fault that there is no capacity to build the carts we need.”
He said that under the bill, they are also encouraging vendors to keep their carts at home, and can cook and prepare their food in their own kitchens or in industrial kitchens that are not necessarily from the police stations. “These, apart from being very expensive, are not enough, and are far away”.
For months, a committee of street vendors throughout California has been coming together to provide guidance on SB 900, especially so that under this bill, their needs are met while protecting public health .
Sellers have emphasized the need to ensure that food laws reflect the diversity of the food economy.
“I am very grateful and excited by the prospect of a law that encompasses people who were once punished and excluded from our food laws,” said Espinoza of the organization Public Counsel.
The SB 972 will advance to hour to the Senate Fiscal Appropriations Committee for approval.