Politics

Salt Lake Liberates Kids' Lemonade Stands, Jukeboxes, and More from Licensing Regulations

|

lemonade stand
Credit: jbcurio

The Salt Lake County Council slashed 150 pages of business regulations over the last year, eliminating dozens of license requirements and 45 different fees.

Here's the news from Salt Lake:

The council eliminated licenses for "amusement devices," operating jukeboxes, circuses, carnivals, driving ranges, mini-golf, bowling alleys (a license formerly cost $15 per lane) and arcades, which used to cost $250 a year. Salt Lake County will no longer require a special business license for rooms where people play billiards, pool, and bagatelle, as well as "backgammon, cards, checkers or other games of similar nature, or any game played with beans, buttons, dice or similar devices."

Auctioneers, "automobile wrecking establishments," florists, secondhand dealers, junk dealers and those hosting swap meets, flea markets, liquidation sales and parking lots, are also freed from licensing. Laundromats no longer have to pay $6 to register each coin-operated washer and dryer they own. Perhaps most fittingly, a $100 license to work is no longer needed to open an employment office.

The council also built in an exception for "lemonade stands and similar operations run by children" in language about licensing new businesses.

Kudos!

Via former Reason intern Nick Sibilla.