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Texas Legislature 2019

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signs bill declaring children's lemonade stands legal

The bill, which goes into effect Sept. 1, prevents cities and neighborhood associations from prohibiting or regulating children who sell nonalcoholic drinks on private property.

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Focus on sign at lemonade stand. A lemon, strawberry and pile of red plastic cups in foreground. Out of focus girl in background.
Children will no longer need permits to operate lemonade stands starting Sept. 1. Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Texas Legislature 2019

The 86th Legislature runs from Jan. 8 to May 27. From the state budget to health care to education policy — and the politics behind it all — we focus on what Texans need to know about the biennial legislative session.

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Great news, children of Texas: Your unlicensed lemonade stands soon won’t be criminal enterprises.

Gov. Greg Abbott late Monday signed a bill that prohibits cities and neighborhood associations from enacting rules that block or regulate children trying to sell nonalcoholic drinks like lemonade on private property. The law targets local health codes and neighborhood rules that intentionally or unintentionally ban the stands or require permits for them to operate.

Support for such a law in Texas began to grow in 2015, when police in the East Texas town of Overton reportedly shut down a lemonade stand by two young siblings who were trying to earn money to buy a Father's Day present.

The bill, authored by state Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, passed unanimously in both chambers. Abbott signed the bill in a video he posted on Twitter.

"Here is a common sense law," he said in the video.

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Politics State government 86th Legislative Session East Texas Greg Abbott Matt Krause