Making criminals out of kids looking for an entrepreneurial start embarrasses Colorado
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tony Gagliardi, Colorado State Director, 303-325-6243, [email protected]
or Tony Malandra, Regional Media Manager, 415-640-5156, [email protected]
DENVER, Feb. 7, 2019—Every legislature in the country will convene for business this Monday, February 11, but only Colorado’s, it’s a safe bet, will consider a measure to decriminalize lemonade stands.
“What Senate Bill 103 would do is allow minors to explore their entrepreneurial side by removing the red-tape in legally running a small, occasional business,” said Tony Gagliardi, NFIB’s Colorado state director. “The bill will prohibit any municipality, city, or county government or any other agency of local government from requiring a license or permit for such small, occasional businesses such as lemonade stands, provided the business is operated fewer than 84 days per year and is located enough distance from another commercial entity.”
The need for such legislation came out of an incident last year, which Gagliardi called a national embarrassment. As reported by The Denver Post at the time, “It started when two Denver police officers approached Jennifer Knowles and her three young kids. Her 4-year-old ran toward the officers, thinking they wanted some icy refreshment. ‘And his smile turned to a frown,’ Knowles recalled, ‘when he realized that we were being shut down.’ ”
Gagliardi thanked Senate Bill 103 sponsors, Sens. Angela Williams and Jack Tate, and Reps. James Coleman, Terri Carver, and Kevin Van Winkle, for lending a helping hand. “It’s not often in these political times both sides can come together and support legislation aimed at allowing children to learn what it takes to run a business.
“How many of today’s successful business owners remember their first stab at being an entrepreneur? I’ll bet many of those first attempts were with lemonade stands. Lemonade stands are the first step into entrepreneurship for many young people across the country. Many of today’s small-business owners got their start selling lemonade when they were kids. Young people should be encouraged to take that first step into business, not be penalized for their initiative by bureaucratic red-tape.”
SB 103 comes up for hearing, Monday, February 11, in the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee.
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For more than 75 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.
National Federation of Independent Business/Colorado
1580 Logan St. Suite 520
Denver, CO 80203
303-831-6099
www.nfib.com/colorado
Twitter: @NFIB_CO
