A seasonal food-truck court across from Sandpoint’s popular summer weekend farmers’ market in Farmin Park has been unable to get a beer and wine license because state laws require a permanent building and kitchen facilities, Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint says, so she’s drafted legislation to include “temporary food courts” in Idaho’s beer and wine license laws.

Keough said the owners wanted to offer a beer and wine booth to complement the various food trucks that sell hamburgers, salads, pizza and the like in the court to Farmers’ Market visitors.  “Even though the city of Sandpoint, the police chief and the prosecutor were all fine with that, our laws are pretty strict when it comes to defining premises, in particular a need for kitchen facilities and a building,” she said. “The (state) alcohol beverage folks … were not supportive at all.”

Senators on the Senate State Affairs Committee had lots of questions about details in Keough’s bill, but they agreed this morning to introduce it and allow a full hearing.