Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill that will allow food trucks to operate with greater freedom across the state. The Institute for Justice worked with legislators to construct a bill based on “Food Truck Freedom,” a study of best practices in regulating mobile vending.

“With the signing of legislation, food truck owners can much more easily operate across the state of Arizona,” said Paul Avelar, Managing Attorney of the Institute for Justice Arizona Office. “Because of a patchwork of outdated and hostile local rules and regulations, these mobile businesses find it difficult to actually move from place-to-place. This new law will allow many more Arizonans to consider an affordable path to starting their own business.”

HB 2371, introduced by State Rep. Kevin Payne, will prevent municipalities from banning food trucks or creating red tape that makes it difficult for trucks to operate. This red tape includes restrictions that stop food trucks from parking in legal public parking spaces, that force trucks to leave private lots after an arbitrarily short period, and that prohibit trucks from operating within a certain distance of brick-and-mortar restaurants.

“States all across the country should pay attention to what Arizona did,” said Robert Frommer, an Institute for Justice senior attorney, who is the head of IJ’s National Street Vending Initiative and has represented food truck owners across the nation. “A thriving food truck scene has many benefits, including increased job creation, new options for customers and safer streets. Unfortunately, far too many places create anti-competitive restrictions in a misguided attempt to protect established businesses. We hope that in the coming years, other states will enact sensible statewide regulation that allows for new growth.”

Through its National Street Vending Initiative, IJ protects vendors’ rights coast to coast. IJ’s vending lawsuits in San Antonio, El Paso, and Louisville successfully eliminated protectionist laws that banned food trucks from operating near their brick-and-mortar competitors. IJ has also filed lawsuits to tear down unconstitutional barriers around food trucks in Baltimore and Chicago.