LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — State officials are asking for input from street vendors.
According to the Nevada Secretary of State's office, street vendors can apply to serve on the Task Force on Safe Sidewalk Vendors. The group was created as part of Senate Bill 92, which was signed into law by Gov. Joe Lombardo.
It sets up the framework for local governments to help street vendors legitimize their businesses and become licensed. The task force would be made up of nine people. Two of them will be street vendors. The other seven would be made up of representatives from the health district, a county or city, the gaming or restaurant industry, law enforcement, and community organizations that represent or advocate for street vendors.
To apply for a role on the Task Force, you can call the Secretary of State's Office at 702-486-2614 or email the office at SOSPIO@sos.nv.gov.
This comes after a viral altercation between a Las Vegas police officer and a street vendor at the Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas Sign. According to Las Vegas police, officers contacted a vendor there and told him not to operate there since he wasn't licensed. The next day, officers saw him there again. When they approached the man, officers said he shoved one of them to the ground, which prompted an officer to pull out a taser.
Selling food as a street vendor is illegal without a license. Even though S.B. 92 is law, local governments still need to develop their own regulations.
According to the Southern Nevada Health District, a sidewalk vendor who sells food is considered a food establishment and must have a health permit in order to operate. Cities and the county must also develop zoning and business requirements. They add under current Health District regulations, food offered to the public can't be prepared in home kitchens and that food sold by sidewalk vendors must be bought the same day, prepared at the sidewalk vendor location, or store and prepare ingredients at a permitted commissary. Food workers must also have a valid food handler health safety card.
Clark County officials are expected to create an ordinance regarding street vendors in the Resorts Corridor by the end of October.
