Bakery Freedom Act not needed

Why is it politicians seem to prefer the extremes, rather than compromise? Lawmakers in Madison are trying to decide how many cupcakes a person can sell without requiring them to obtain a commercial license. For decades, it has been illegal in Wisconsin for home bakers to sell their tasty treats unless they had a commercial license. That would require them to have a commercial kitchen, something out of reach for most grandmothers and their strawberry pies or zucchini bread. A group of Wisconsin home bakers filed a lawsuit, and found a sympathetic judge who agreed that the law requiring them to be licensed is unnecessarily restrictive. So some of our politicians are considering easing the rules, allowing those who bake in their home kitchen to sell up to $7500 of their product a year without first having to get licensed. That seems reasonable. But one key lawmaker wants to go much farther. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is unveiling a plan to end licensing for all baking operations in Wisconsin. Even the biggest commercial bakeries. He calls it the Bakery Freedom Act, saying it would level the playing field for all bakeries in Wisconsin. That is unnecessary, and potentially dangerous. There is a reason we force operations like Bimbo Bakery in La Crosse to be licensed and undergo inspections. We shouldn’t treat Aunt Betty and her occasional batch of chocolate chip cookies the same as those who make tons of twinkies.