Editor’s Note: Thirty years ago, hundreds of reporters were assigned to cover State Legislatures, and competing wire services tracked everything. Today’s corporate entertainment media sees all that as an unnecessary expense, and state legislative coverage has become thin to zero. That makes it a real challenge for those of us trying to keep up with food safety in the 50 states.
With 2,700 state and local health departments being the foundation for surveillance of food-borne illness in the county, being current on state legislatures is critical. Food Safety News readers are fortunate that technology and Doug Farquhar, the government affairs director for the National Environmental Health Association, keep us up to date on state action. His 2024 report continues the series of analyses he has provided Food Safety News readers since the tracking system was put together.
The following Farquhar report offers the first complete look at 2024 Legislative actions by the 50 state Legislatures. Here is that report: For the 2024 state legislative sessions that began in January 2024, state legislators introduced 250 bills related to food safety. Of these bills, 41 were passed and enacted into law, with another 11 eligible for signing by the state governor.
Further, four bills have been vetoed by state governors. Retail Food Safety Bills Of the 45 bills introduced on retail food safety, 13 were enacted into law in California (with 5 other bills eligible for governor signing), Colorado, F.
