A bill intended to streamline licensure for food trucks, HB2371, has been amended to ensure that paleteros and eloteros will not be adversely affected by the legislation. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Payne, requires the director of the Arizona Department of Health Services to adopt rules to create a statewide license for food trucks, as well as other changes to streamline that process.
Payne responded to concerns that the bill would allow cities to ban paleteros, mobile vendors that sell ice cream, and eloteros, mobile vendors that sell food. Because Payne did not intend for the legislation to impact paleteros or eloteros, he worked to add language protecting them.
“My goal with this legislation is to create a statewide license for food truck vendors, not allow cities to ban paleteros and eloteros,” said Representative Payne. “I’m glad that we were able to add language to the bill to ensure that paleteros and eloteros won’t be negatively impacted.”