Every year, Always Cooking NOLA owner Damian Crockem forks over $600 to Tarrant County to permit his mobile food trailer.
The price tag, which also reaches triple digits in other Texas counties, is a barrier that keeps him from getting more permits and selling his food around the state, he said.
A recent Texas House bill is cooking up change for business owners like Crockem.
House Bill 2844, awaiting Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature, would move food truck permitting under the state’s jurisdiction. With the Texas Department of State Health Services administering licenses, mobile food establishments like Crockem’s would be free to operate wherever they like under a single permit.
Under the bill, food trucks and trailers will have to submit an application, pass a state health inspection and pay a fee.
The bill will be applied through rules that are “narrowly tailored,” and it lists restrictions on what the state can regulate. The state cannot dictate business hours or require establishments to “operate outside a specific perimeter of a commercial establishment or restaurant,” for example.
The bill has the support of the Texas Restaurant Association, a group that advocates for the state’s food service industry. Kelsey Erickson Streufert, chief public affairs officer for the association, said the bill will simplify what can be an onerous process for mobile food unit owners.
“It gets confusing and it gets complicated pretty quickly, and so this bill is a really great effort to consolidate some of that government red tape, make it easier for businesses to operate, and again, help them really focus on what matters, which is operating safely and growing their business,” Streufert said.
HB 2844 has also drawn criticism.
The Texas Municipal League, a group that represents 1,174 member cities’ interests, opposed the bill.
In a letter on behalf of the league, Grassroots and Legislative Services Director Monty Wynn said the bill would subvert municipalities’ regulatory authority and create more bureaucratic hoops for food truck owners to jump through.
“We understand the intent to create a more standardized regulatory framework to foster business growth, but HB 2844 imposes one-size-fits-all rules enforced by distant and overburdened state officials at the expense of tailored local regulations that prioritize public health, safety, and fair business practices,” Wynn said in the letter.
The bill says inspections can be conducted by the Department of State Health Services or “a governmental entity acting under a collaborative agreement.”
At a Tarrant County Mayors’ Council meeting in early June, Public Health Director Brian Byrd said the state may seek the help of the county due to staffing challenges.
“The state currently doesn’t have enough personnel to do that in Tarrant County, so we anticipate that they’re going to contract with us — but we don’t know yet,” Byrd said at the meeting. “Our goal is to make it as seamless as possible for small businesses and vendors to get their permits, from us if that’s what the state wants us to do, and if they don’t we will support them as best as we can.”
Because the Texas Legislature passed the bill during the final days of the session, Abbott has until June 22 to veto or sign it. If he does neither, the bill automatically becomes law.
Kennedy Sam, Tarrant County Public Health spokesperson, said the county and state are communicating about the potential changes. For now, she said, things will stay the same because the bill does not take effect until July 1, 2026.
“While it’s too early to know the full impact of this law, we are in ongoing conversations with the Texas Department of State Health Services to continue collaborating on inspections and supporting the well-being of our community,” Sam said.
Crockem is hopeful the bill will become law. Although his business has seen positive reception within the county, he also has ambitions of selling his authentic New Orleans fare to hungry Texans across the state.
“We can go to Abilene. We can go to Weatherford,” Crockem said. “We can go anywhere we want.”
McKinnon Rice is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at mckinnon.rice@fortworthreport.org.
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