Position Paper UPDATE: Vote NO on HB25-1295 Food Truck Operations
In This Section
Author: Elizabeth Haskell
March 31, 2025
WHAT DOES THE BILL DO?
House Bill 25-1295, Food Truck Operations, as amended, undermines local business licensing authority and regulations by requiring municipalities to issue reciprocal business licenses to mobile food vendors who are licensed in other jurisdictions. The bill also:
• Prioritizes mobile food vendors over all other businesses, including by setting arbitrary timelines for business licensure review and approval
• Establishes inadequate provisions for approving and revoking licenses, including an allowance for government action based on information that isn’t readily available, constraining traditional local authority
• Creates an unfunded mandate by capping fees without understanding issuance costs
• Interferes with the City and County of Denver’s established food safety program
WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE NO
• The bill gives unfair advantages to a specific category of vendors who choose to come into a municipality to conduct business to the detriment of permanent businesses that regularly contribute to the community and help it thrive
• The bill ignores the reasonable bases that municipalities have for using their traditional power to regulate mobile vendors and business licenses
• The bill threatens the autonomy of local governments and could negatively impact public safety and community well-being by allowing the standards of the community with the least stringent licensure standards to dictate standards across the state
• Colorado’s constitution doesn’t allow the state to simply overrule purely local regulations it doesn’t like
YOUR OPPOSITION IS RESPECTFULLY REQUESTED
Voting NO on HB25-1295 supports local businesses, community desires, and local control over business licenses, which are essential for public safety, fair competition, and community harmony.
CONTACT Elizabeth Haskell | CML legislative and policy advocate | 303.995.6467 | ehaskell@cml.org
House Bill 25-1295, Food Truck Operations, as amended, undermines local business licensing authority and regulations by requiring municipalities to issue reciprocal business licenses to mobile food vendors who are licensed in other jurisdictions. The bill also:
• Prioritizes mobile food vendors over all other businesses, including by setting arbitrary timelines for business licensure review and approval
• Establishes inadequate provisions for approving and revoking licenses, including an allowance for government action based on information that isn’t readily available, constraining traditional local authority
• Creates an unfunded mandate by capping fees without understanding issuance costs
• Interferes with the City and County of Denver’s established food safety program
WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE NO
• The bill gives unfair advantages to a specific category of vendors who choose to come into a municipality to conduct business to the detriment of permanent businesses that regularly contribute to the community and help it thrive
• The bill ignores the reasonable bases that municipalities have for using their traditional power to regulate mobile vendors and business licenses
• The bill threatens the autonomy of local governments and could negatively impact public safety and community well-being by allowing the standards of the community with the least stringent licensure standards to dictate standards across the state
• Colorado’s constitution doesn’t allow the state to simply overrule purely local regulations it doesn’t like
YOUR OPPOSITION IS RESPECTFULLY REQUESTED
Voting NO on HB25-1295 supports local businesses, community desires, and local control over business licenses, which are essential for public safety, fair competition, and community harmony.
CONTACT Elizabeth Haskell | CML legislative and policy advocate | 303.995.6467 | ehaskell@cml.org
Additional Resources
Downloadable Position Paper for HB25-1295