Maine Lawmakers Looking to Nix Licensing For Kids’ Lemonade Stands

Maine law has it that if you are 18 or younger you need a license to set up a lemonade stand but, Maine lawmakers are trying to end this.

An act looking to eliminate the current licensing, fees and sales taxes need wants to allow minors to set up stands for not only the occasional lemonade sale but also prepackaged foods, baked items and other non-alcoholic drinks.

The act includes the a basis of occasional selling and doing so on private property.

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According to trackbill.com, the act was received by the Maine House of Representatives on March 22nd and is sponsored by Maine Representative Justin Fecteau, a Republican from Augusta of the Maine Legislature.

Many states across the nation require a permit in order to run a lemonade stand, including Maine.

Kids in Maine have had incredible success with their lemonade stands.  Many stories just from last year showed the entrepreneur spirit that Maine's kids have in using the traditional lemonade stand approach, including:

• Seven-year-old Paige who raised $1700 in Winthrop last year for the Maine Cancer Foundation.
• Seven-year-old Kayden who raised $300 in the first hour of opening her stand in Camden for the American Civil Liberties Union.
• Kids in Caribou raising more than $2000 last June for a local woman who had a heart transplant.
• Harper and Elias in Southwest Harbor who made $50 per weekend last summer to raise money for the local SPCA.
• And, of course, Althea from Brewer who raised funds for cancer treatment for a friend.

The bill is planned to go into a work session, then will be considered to become law here for the State of Maine.