FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 16, 2024
Sen. Fabian Doñate, Street Vendors, Advocates Call For New Legislation to Override County Commission’s Unfair, Overly Restrictive Regulations
The rules adopted Tuesday by the Clark County Commission fly in the face of the spirit of SB92, which sought to create a clear path to licensure for street vendors in 2023.
LAS VEGAS, NV – In the wake of a vote by the Clark County Commission to adopt overly-restrictive rules for legal street vendors on Tuesday – rules that directly contravene the intent of creating a clear licensing path for street vending at the state level – state Sen. Fabian Doñate vowed to bring new legislation next year that will implement the spirit of the law as-intended.
Passed in 2023, SB92 created the legal framework for the licensing and regulation of street vendors by local jurisdictions. With that power, the Clark County Commission has adopted a regulatory regime so strict that vendors are not only prevented from selling near the Strip or stadiums – but from parks and schools and anywhere they might actually be able to do business.
The new regulations represent an existential threat to hundreds of vendors across Clark County, vendors who simply want to make a living and provide for the vibrant fabric of Las Vegas and Clark County.
“As I mentioned in my remarks,” said Sen. Fabian Doñate. “I think there are a lot of unknowns. This has been a fairly new process for our state. You heard remarks from the street food vendors today that the most important thing that they wanted out of this was parks. There is a culturally significant portion of this ordinance that could potentially devastate many of these street food vendors. So we are going to see the effects of that now that the ordinance has been passed. Either positively or negatively. The vendors stated that this would affect them negatively. So we have to be mindful as that process continues and then if the county responds adequately hopefully we can remediate that in the near future.”
“For more than twenty years, I have dedicated my life to serving you my tamales, elotes, and raspados in Las Vegas parks,” said Teodora Tepetzi, a street vendor and Make the Road Nevada member. “These places are the lifeblood of our street vendor community. They are where we gather, share our stories, and earn a living for our families.
“But today, I am compelled to raise my voice in protest against the city of Las Vegas for not making this process accessible to us. We have been left out in the cold, ignoring our concerns and needs as street vendors.”
“I grew up on this food – my whole family has, my husband and his family has,” said Paula Luna, Battle Born Progress Deputy Director. “I love that my nieces and nephews and my goddaughter get to grow up eating it, that I can support my neighbor and their business and their family when I buy their food. But today’s vote leaves those street vendors in the same place they started. Without a meaningful path to licensure and regulations that allow for these businesses to make a living, Clark County can’t expect anything other than a status quo that we know does not work.”
Background on SB92: Passed in 2023, SB92 created a legal framework for sidewalk vendors – commonly referred to as street vendors – by granting local jurisdictions in Clark and Washoe counties the power to regulate those vendors.
- Last year, the Clark County Commission moved to ban vendors from the resort corridor and Las Vegas’ biggest stadiums.
- Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, proposed regulations put before commissioners went a step further – banning vendors from selling near parks or schools.
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About Battle Born Progress: Battle Born Progress, through strategic communication efforts, empowers, engages, and mobilizes Nevada voters to build a state where everyone has a fair opportunity to succeed. We support, engage, and mobilize the progressive community through bold leadership, strategic communications, accountability, and education. We are on the cutting edge of new media and are the go-to source for progressive issues and advocacy for traditional media. Learn more at https://battlebornprogress.org/.
About Make the Road Nevada: Make The Road Nevada is a non-profit organization based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Our family of organizations hail from the east coast, where they have changed the face of community organizing in immigrant communities and become an immutable force for good. The states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania all bear the fruits of our work, and it is time for Make The Road to make the difference in our communities on the west coast. Learn more at https://maketheroadnv.org/.
