Bill of the Day: State Rep. Owen advocates for home businesses with “Home-based Opportunity Freedom Act”

Y’all Politics brings you a Bill of the Day from the Mississippi Legislature that just may pique your interest.

The number of people working from home has exponentially increased over the past few years and the growth in home-based business has exploded across the nation.

However, some local ordinances continue to heavily restrict home-based business operations through at times onerous regulations as it pertains to notices to neighbors, permitting, accessory structures, traffic, and other considerations.

These regulations can be huge hurdles for individuals when considering to start a home-based business and seek their own economic opportunities.

State Rep. Jansen Owen (R) has filed HB 917, titled the “Home-based Opportunity Freedom Act of 2022,” that seeks to ease those restrictions.

The bill would prohibit all local governments from adopting or enforcing an ordinance or regulations that restricts a particular home-based occupation or activity, or that imposes a burden on home-based work.

Rep. Owen’s bill states that a local government board shall not:

• Prohibit mail order or telephone sales for home-based work;
• Prohibit serving clients by appointment in the home or accessory structure;
• Prohibit resident or nonresident employees or independent contractors from working in the home or accessory structure;
• Prohibit or require structural modifications to the home or accessory structure;
• Restrict the amount of floor space for home-based work;
• Restrict the hours of operation for home-based work;
• Require an individual engaged in home-based work to apply, register or obtain a permit, license, variance or other type of prior approval from the local unit of government, unless otherwise required under state or local law;
• Restrict storage or the use of equipment that does not produce effects outside the home or accessory structure;
• Require rezoning for commercial use of the home or accessory structure used exclusively for home-based work;
• Require the installation or equipping of fire sprinklers in the home or accessory structure used exclusively for home-based work.

You can read the full bill here.