State Governments

Texas Legalizes Lemonade Stands Run by Children

The state previously required that kids get a permit.

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lemonadestand | Nadinbnd | Dreamstime.com
(Nadinbnd | Dreamstime.com)

Texas kids of the entrepreneurial variety are now free to legally peddle lemonade. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed a law on Monday that will allow children to set up lemonade stands without a permit.

Rep. Matt Krause (R–Fort Worth) introduced the legislation in order to eliminate licensing requirements for kids under 18 who seek to sell lemonade and other non-alcoholic beverages. Texas isn't the only state to attract attention for its hardline policies on lemonade. As I wrote back in March:

A similar law recently passed in Colorado after the police shut down a kid's lemonade stand over licensing woes. The makeshift business was operating next to a festival where adults were selling the same beverage.

The Dallas Morning News highlights that several young lemonade vendors across Texas have met the same fate. Unaware that their business endeavors were in violation of state law, sisters Andria, 8, and Zoey Green, 7, had their stand shuttered in 2015 by police who noted that they were operating without a permit.

The law goes into effect September 1. Abbott tweeted a video of him signing the bill, calling it a "commonsense" law.

"Cheers!" he said, holding a tall glass of lemonade.