Title
Discussion of issues relating to changes in mobile food truck ordinance.
Body
Summary:
Effective July 1, 2026, House Bill 2844 (89th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2025) transferred food-safety licensing and inspection authority for mobile food vendors from local health departments to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).
Legislative Background - What HB 2844 Does
HB 2844 was filed to address what its author described as a “patchwork” of inconsistent local mobile food vendor regulations across Texas - noting, for example, that neighboring cities like Midland and Odessa impose very different rules on vendors just a short drive apart. The bill's stated purpose is to create a uniform, statewide licensing system that lowers barriers to entry for small business owners and working Texans who earn a living through mobile food vending. It passed the Legislature and was signed into law, with most provisions effective July 1, 2026.
Key mechanics of the new law:
• Statewide license required. Every mobile food vendor must hold a DSHS-issued Mobile Food Vendor (MFV) license, with a separate license for each food vending vehicle.
• Local health permits eliminated. Cities and counties may no longer issue their own food-safety permits, run their own food-safety inspections, or charge food-safety fees for mobile food vendors - unless they enter a formal collaborative agreement with DSHS to inspect on the state's behalf.
• Three-tier risk classification. DSHS sorts vendors into Type I (prepackaged food/low risk, e.g., ice cream trucks), Type II (limited prep, e.g., coffee or hot dog carts), and Type III (full cooking operations, e.g., BBQ or taco trucks). Type I vendors are the lowest-risk tier and are inspected only in response to a complaint - not on a routine schedule.
• Local preemption clause. The bill preempts a local authority from prohibiting or regulating a mobile food vendor in a way that conflicts with the bill. A city may not prohibit the operation, in its jurisdiction, of a vendor who holds a valid MFV license and otherwise complies with state and local law.
• Zoning, fire, and location authority preserved. The bill expressly still requires vendors to comply with local fire codes, zoning codes, and location restrictions - this is the hook for the City's continued ordinance authority
• Retroactive application. The bill states it applies to any local ordinance, rule, regulation, policy, or procedure adopted before, on, or after its effective date - meaning an existing local ordinance that conflicts with HB 2844 does not get grandfathered in.
• DSHS rulemaking limits. The Legislature also restricted what DSHS's own implementing rules can require of vendors - for example, DSHS rules cannot mandate GPS tracking, fingerprinting, a required commercial-establishment agreement, or that a vendor's vehicle stay in constant motion except when serving customers. This does not restrict city ordinances directly, but it signals that the Legislature intended a light regulatory touch for these vendors generally.
Prior to this legislative change:
The city did not allow Type 1 (ice cream trucks) in the city by using the solicitation and noise ordinances. However, this is no longer an option under the new bill as we do not have the ability to ban mobile food trucks entirely. The chart shows the differences in the current ordinance and a proposed ordinance with changes due to the law.
Summary of Proposed Ordinance Changes
The table below summarizes how Sec. 22-48 changed from the prior ordinance to the updated version presented for adoption.
|
Provision |
Prior Ordinance |
Updated Ordinance |
|
Definitions |
Basic definition of “mobile food service unit” only |
Definition aligned with state's “food vending vehicle” term; new “mobile food vendor” definition added |
|
Vendor types |
Not addressed |
New subsection (b) adopts DSHS's Type I / II / III classifications |
|
Health/food-safety permit |
Required proof of county public health permit |
Replaced with proof of DSHS Mobile Food Vendor (MFV) license |
|
Residential zones |
Banned citywide except with written permission in a public park |
Same public-park exception retained, plus new private-party/private-event exception |
|
Same-location dwell limit |
No vendor of any type may operate at the same location for more than 6 days per 90-day permit period |
Unchanged |
|
Preemption clause |
Not addressed |
New subsection (d) clarifies the City's permit is a local operating permit (zoning/location/fire), not a food-safety permit, and remains valid under HB 2844 |
|
Type I - specific standards |
Not addressed |
New subsection (e): residential roaming allowed, 10-minute dwell limit, street-classification limits, school-proximity buffer, restricted hours, sound-device rules |
|
Fees, hours, insurance, parking, drive-through ban, fire inspection, penalties |
As previously adopted |
Unchanged |
Fiscal/Budgetary Impact:
N/A.
Recommended action
Discussion only in Workshop.