VA - Tell Ag Committee Members to Vote YES on HB 759

Support Food Freedom

Tell Ag Committee Members to Vote YES on HB 759

House Bill 759 (HB 759), legislation that would remove the $3000 gross annual revenue cap for sales of pickles and other acidified vegetables, is now before the Virginia House of Delegates Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee, which could be holding a hearing on the bill as early as this Wednesday at 9 a.m.

Under current law, producers making pickles at a private home without government inspection can only sell $3000 of pickles a year and sales can only be to the end-user. The latest version of the bill increases the cap to $9000 as well as further amending the law to allow Internet advertising and relaxing labeling requirements. The bill is an opportunity to further expand local unregulated commerce.

ACTION TO TAKE

[Note: urls for hyperlinks are at the end of this alert]

1. Call and/or email House Ag committee members asking them to vote YES on HB 759; calls are best. It is especially important to contact a committee member if you are a constituent. A link to the Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee members is here.

To find your legislator, you may enter your address here

You may copy/paste this block of email addresses to contact each member of the committee:

2. Submit a comment or written testimony in support of HB 759 through the online portal here; you’ll also be able to view comments already submitted. You may check the House Ag committee schedule and review the agenda to see when HB 759 will be heard by going here.

TALKING POINTS

1. The demand for local food continues to grow; passage of HB 759 will better enable producers of pickles and other acidified foods to better meet that demand.

2. Producers operating under the current pickle law have a great track record for safety; not a single case of foodborne illness has been attributed to a sale made under that law.

3. Passage of the bill will increase producer income and expand markets with the allowance of Internet advertising.

WAPF will send out further alerts on HB 759 as events warrant.

LINKS

HB 759 – https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+sum+HB759

Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee –

https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+com+H1

Find your legislator – https://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov/

Assembly members (Delegates) – https://virginiageneralassembly.gov/house/members/members.php?id=H0177

Ag Committee schedule & agendas –https://virginiageneralassembly.gov/house/agendas/agendaDates.php?id=H01&ses=241

portal for comments and written testimony –

https://hodspeak.house.virginia.gov/committees/H01/bill_feedback

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