The Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA) supports both HB3764/ SB1766 and the inclusion of honey in the Home Processors Bill, HB 2600.  Each bill, by itself, is an improvement over the current law.  And if both bills pass, they will complement each other by creating a framework under which:

1. micro-producers could sell small quantities of honey that they or their immediate family members produce directly to consumers without any substantive regulation (HB 3764/ SB 1766), and
2. small-scale producers who wish to operate beyond those limitations would be able to sell honey processed in their home kitchens under reasonable, scale-sensitive regulations (HB 2600).

There is no conflict between the Home Processors Bill and HB 3764/ SB 1766.  Indeed, the relationship between the two is very similar to the relationship between the cottage food law and the home processors bill.  If both bills pass this session, there will be one tier of extremely small honey-processing activity that would be essentially unregulated, and a second broader tier of honey-processing activity that will be allowed in home kitchens subject to a moderate level of regulation.

We recognize the concerns about adulterated honey, and have suggested an amendment to HB 2600 to require that a home processor who produces honey comply with Chapter 131 of the Agriculture Code to prevent the sale of adulterated products.  This is the same way that the issue is being handled in HB3764/ SB 1766, and would mean that people processing honey in home kitchens would be subject to the exact same law on adulteration as those processing in commercial kitchens.