Des Moines, Iowa — The Iowa House has passed a bill that would nullify many city and county ordinances that critics say prevent Iowans from having successful home based businesses.
Republican Representative Skyler Wheeler, of Orange City, says Iowans should be able to operate a business out of their home if they aren’t disturbing neighbors.
A section of the bill would allow home-based baking businesses to earn up to 50-thousand dollars a year — the cap today is 35-thousand dollars — and make it legal to sell jams, jellies and syrups made in a home kitchen. State regulators would have authority to inspect food prep businesses in a home.
Representative Chuck Isenhart, a Democrat from Dubuque, says a lot of folks liked working from home during the pandemic and these concepts are worth discussing, but the bill may go too far.
The bill passed the House on a 66-to-25 vote. If the Senate and the governor approve it, too, Iowa cities and counties would only be allowed to have regulations for at-home businesses that are based on public health and safety or the impact the business might have the residential neighborhood.
