Americans for Prosperity-New Jersey Urges Support for Home Baker Bill

Feb 1, 2018 by AFP

TRENTON, N.J. – Americans for Prosperity-New Jersey (AFP-NJ) on Thursday announced support for Assembly bill A-801, which would permit the sale of cottage foods. Currently, New Jersey is the only state that bans the sale of cookies, cakes, muffins, and other homemade goods for profit. Violators of the “home baker ban” face up to $1,000 in fines for a first offense. AFP-NJ has consistently supported eliminating statutes that serve as barriers to opportunity. AFP-NJ State Director Erica Jedynak today testified before the Assembly Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee in support of A-801, which passed the committee unanimously.

“The home baker ban is simply another example of special interests working to hold people back from making a living and pursuing their version of the American dream. This ban serves only to protect vested interests, not the public,” said AFP-NJ State Director Erica Jedynak. “For too long, similar legislation has passed the Assembly only to die in committee in the Senate, but momentum is on our side this session. With the Institute for Justice challenging the ban in court and our activists working the legislative front, we’re confident we can put an end to this absurd statute. We thank Assemblyman and Chairman of the Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee Bob Andrzejczak for introducing this bill that gets special interests out of the way and helps entrepreneurs support themselves and their families.”

“New Jersey home bakers are now one step closer to breaking free of the government regulation they never needed in the first place,” said David Barnes, policy director for Generation Opportunity, a partner organization focused on young people. “Young entrepreneurs in New Jersey deserve the right to use their culinary talent to support themselves and their families, and senseless regulations shouldn’t stand in their path. We applaud the Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee for advancing this measure and urge the General Assembly to pass it without delay.”

In December, The Institute for Justice and New Jersey Home Bakers Association filed a lawsuit against the New Jersey Department of Health to strike down the home bakers ban. A similar lawsuit was filed in Wisconsin in 2016, and a Wisconsin court ruled the ban to be unconstitutional in 2017.

The ban is ostensibly intended for public safety, but home-baked goods are already legally sold for charity or given away. If home kitchens are safe for nonprofit bake sales, they’re safe enough for for-profit sales, too. The ban only serves to reduce competition among businesses and deprive New Jerseyans of tasty treats as well as opportunities to succeed.

Background:

AFP-NJ Testimony in Support of the NJ Home Bakers Bill (2/1/18)

Video: Generation Opportunity Lives Dangerously and Eats Home Baked Goods (12/7/17)

AFP-NJ Celebrates Court Decision to Overturn Home Bakers’ Ban in Wisconsin, Says New Jersey Next (6/1/17)

AFP-NJ Applauds Atlantic City Council for Passing Resolution Supporting Overturn of Home Baker Ban (8/10/17)

AFP-NJ Applauds Pohatcong Township for Support of Home Baker Freedom (9/20/17)

Op-Ed: It’s Time to End Trenton’s Prohibition on Home Baked Goods (7/12/17)

Wisconsin Farmers Challenge Ban on Home-Baked Goods (1/13/16)

Victory for Wisconsin Home Bakers (6/1/17)

For further information or an interview, reach Lorenz Isidro at LIsidro@afphq.org or (703) 887-7724.

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) exists to recruit, educate, and mobilize citizens in support of the policies and goals of a free society at the local, state, and federal level, helping every American live their dream – especially the least fortunate. AFP has more than 3.2 million activists across the nation, a local infrastructure that includes 36 state chapters, and has received financial support from more than 100,000 Americans in all 50 states. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org

###