Support Food Freedom in Montana

ell Committee Members to Vote YES on SB 202

Senate Bill 202 (SB 202), legislation that clarifies rights established in Montana’s landmark Local Food Choice Act (LFCA) is before the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee and is scheduled for a hearing Monday, January 30 at 3 p.m. The LFCA allows the unregulated sale of foods other than meat and meat products from homemade food producers direct to consumers. SB 202 clarifies the following:

— that boards of county commissioners cannot regulate producers under the FLCA nor under their powers to regulate farmers markets, this includes any labeling requirements the boards issue.

— that producers under the LFCA can deliver food to private property other than the specific venues mentioned in the LFCA.

— that producers under the LFCA aren’t subject to labeling, licensure, inspection, sanitation or other requirements or standards including any licensing requirements for retail food establishments or registration requirements for operations under the state cottage food law.

— that neither the state department of Public Health and Human Services nor local health boards can adopt rules prohibiting sales by producers operating under the LFCA.

Please support this common sense effort to protect homemade food producers..

ACTION TO TAKE

1. Call or email Senate health committee members (see list below) asking them to vote YES on SB202 – calls are best. It is especially important to contact a committee member you are a constituent of.

To find your legislators, enter your address at

https://leg.mt.gov/map/

2. Testify before the committee on January 30 (Room 317 at 3pm). Those wanting to testify must register by 5pm Sunday and can go online to

https://leg.mt.gov/session/have-your-say/

TALKING POINTS

1. The basic intent of the LFCA (with some minor exceptions) was to protect the producer from any regulation at the state or local level. The less regulation, the more in-state producers start up businesses and more of the food dollar stays in the state.

2. SB 202 also protects freedom of choice. Ensuring that there is no regulation of producers under the LFCA will give consumers greater choice in the number of food producers to purchase from and the types of foods to purchase.

3. Passage of SB 202 will help promote food security in the state. With less regulation, there will be more food producers in the state and Montana will become more self-sufficient in food production.

The Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) will be sending out further alerts on SB 202 as events warrant.

COMMITTEE ROSTER

List of Senate committees – https://leg.mt.gov/content/Committees/Session/2023-Senate-Committees.pdf

Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee

McGillvray, Tom (R) ‐ Chair

Primary ph:
Secondary ph:
Email: Tom.McGillvray@legmt.gov

Lenz, Dennis (R) ‐ Vice Chair

Primary ph: (406) 671-7052
Secondary ph:
Email: Dennis.Lenz@legmt.gov

Kelker, Kathy (D) ‐ Vice Chair

Primary ph: (406) 698-5610
Secondary ph: (406) 698-5610
Email: Kathy.Kelker@legmt.gov

Beard, Becky (R)

Primary ph: (406) 479-3048
Secondary ph: (406) 479-3048
Email: Becky.Beard@legmt.gov