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It May Soon Be Legal for Kids to Have Roadside Lemonade Stands in Wisconsin

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Won't that be nice?

At one time or another, we have all either been a part of, bought a drink from, or at the very least driven by the classic child-run roadside lemonade stand. I, for one, remember fondly when Main Street in my home town was closed, and so traffic was largely funneled past our front yard, pushing our $0.50-per-cup business to the lofty heights of $40 in total revenue.


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However, many of us have also seen the number of news stories where police have shut down these budding entrepreneurs due to improper licensing (not really the lesson I would choose to teach today’s youth).

Apparently, though, Wisconsin has decided that we have enough 7-year-old felons on the books, and so has introduced a bill that would legalize children’s roadside lemonade stands, so long as it isn’t a permanent set up, is on private property, and doesn’t make more than $1,000. So far, the bill has been approved by the Wisconsin Assembly, and will now go to the state Senate for approval.

Apparently, the measure’s author, Representative Joel Kleefisch decided to write the bill after seeing a report of police shutting down two preteen girls’ lemonade stand back in 2011.


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Interestingly, the stand may have been all right if, rather than selling the lemonade, the girls had just given it away and asked for donations, because then, technically speaking, they are not “selling” the lemonade.

Also, in many places, local authorities aren’t really that concerned about some kid’s summertime super-small business, though it probably pays to double-check the local ordinances around temporary food sales, because as New York-based lawyer Michael Schwartz points out, “Authorities are duty-bound to abide by the rules and enforce the regulation.” So, if the someone complains, they could be required to act.

News Sources: News8000.com, New York Daily News