Update: The March 13 hearing for this bill was canceled and the bill was withdrawn on March 17 with an unfavorable report from the House Health and Government Operations Committee. NFIB does expect a harsher version of this bill to appear during next session.
The Food Allergy Awareness HB
751 would impact
all restaurants or food-related business that provides seating for customers.
Last session, NFIB, with the efforts of Minority Leader Nic Kipke, was
successful in stripping the bill of steep criminal and civil penalties, and the
mandatory requirement that restaurants
have a staff on the premises at all times that had completed and passed allergy
certification training, to be available to discuss meal options with customers.
Currently,
the 2015 version of this bill does not include fines or mandatory training;
however, if this bill passes out of committee, the bill could be amended on the
House floor, to include these requirements, exposing restaurants to new
lawsuits and additional overhead costs. Therefore, it is extremely
important to act now and urge your legislators and committee members not to
pass this bill.
The bill applies to the eight major food allergies: cow’s
milk, egg, peanut, fish, shellfish, soy, wheat and tree nuts (i.e., walnuts,
pecans, almonds, cashews).
TAKE ACTION
- CLICK HERE to use our easy email took to contact your legislators and ask them to oppose this bill
- If you would like to testify on Friday March 13 or would like NFIB to submit written testimony on your behalf, please contact Miranda Bond at [email protected] | 202-314-2070
- Contact members of the House
Health and Government Operations Committee with specific information about how this legislation would impact your business. It’s especially important to contact the following bill sponsors who are on the committee:
