Michigan brothers win House backing for lemonade stand permit fight

The Michigan House gave unanimous backing to a bill aimed at easing permit rules for small lemonade stands after three brothers in Rogers City were told their summer business needed a temporary food permit. Ethan Mielke, 13, Seth Mielke, 11, and Jonathan Mielke, 8, had sold lemonade under the name Triple M Goods at the Rogers City Farmer’s Market for three summers.

The family said the local health department’s requirement would have cost $57 every two weeks, or about $400 over a June-through-September season. Jessica Mielke said the boys were “really discouraged” by the fee, and the cost ultimately forced the stand to shut down after three summers of operating.

The brothers took the issue to state Rep. Cam Cavitt, a Republican from Cheboygan, who sponsored House Bill 6007. The measure was introduced on May 21, 2026, heard in committee in June, and passed the Michigan House on June 25, 2026, by a 107-0 vote with three members not voting. It then moved to the Michigan Senate and was referred to the Senate Committee on Regulatory Affairs.

House Fiscal Agency analysts said the proposal grew out of constituent complaints that children selling lemonade at a farmers market were being required to obtain a temporary food establishment license and pay recurring fees under existing law. Cavitt said the children from his community brought the matter to his attention and that the aim was to strip away red tape while giving kids a chance to work hard and learn entrepreneurship.

Under the bill, counties, cities, villages and townships could not require a license, permit or registration for certain minor-run temporary food establishments if the stand used single-service articles, sold only lemonade or other nonalcoholic beverages that are not time or temperature controlled for safety, and operated either on private property with the owner’s permission or at a public event with the organizer’s permission. The exemption would also be limited to stands generating $5,000 or less in gross sales per calendar year.

The Mielke brothers’ fight has turned a local permit dispute into a test of how far Michigan lawmakers are willing to go in narrowing rules for low-risk youth businesses. If the Senate advances HB 6007, the narrow exemption would become state law for other minor-run stands facing the same fees.