November is election season, but it’s also a time in which local municipalities give their voters the chance to pass changes to their laws which can affect the food service industry which includes mobile food vendors.

According to The National Restaurant Association in Washington, D.C., there are several measures around the country that could affect day-to-day operations for some operators. Those that they are watching concern minimum wage and the obesity issue.

San Jose, CA

• Residents will choose whether or not to increase the minimum wage from $8 to $10 an hour. The San Jose initiative would be indexed to inflation, which would allow it to rise proportionately over time.

Albuquerque, NM

• A vote on a minimum wage initiative, deciding whether to leave it at $7.50 per hour or raise it a dollar to $8.50. In addition, the measure seeks to raise the minimum wage for tipped employees from the current $2.13 an hour to 60 percent of the minimum wage level. Both wages would be tied to any increases in inflation and examined every year.

Richmond and El Monte, CA

• Two proposed ballot initiatives would levy a one-cent-per-ounce tax and sugar-sweetened beverages in an effort to help combat the rising obesity problem.

Not that we suggest paying your food truck staff at minimum wage, but if you do and are in one of these areas, you may be a little more interested in getting out to the polls on November 6th to vote on these initiatives.

Does your area have a ballot initiative that will affect the mobile food industry not mentioned here? Please share it in the comment section below to help those in your area what they need to be concerned with.