Indiana lawmakers are making sure local governments and homeowner associations can’t stop children from operating lemonade stands.

The House unanimously approved legislation Monday its author calls the “feel good bill” of the 2024 session.

Technically, Indiana law doesn’t allow a child to operate a lemonade stand without a permit — which would subject them to a host of regulations and costs.

Rep. Blake Johnson (D-Indianapolis) said his bill, HB 1019, protects many kids’ first experience with business.

“They learn about identifying investors, procuring products, ensuring stable supply chains, developing marketing plans, identifying customers, handling point-of-sale processes, dealing with competition from up the street and whether or not to spend their cold, hard cash or reinvest it in the business,” Johnson said.

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Johnson’s bill ensures no local government, agency or homeowners association can prohibit or regulate a stand run by someone who’s under age 18 and sells nonalcoholic beverages.

And the only rules the bill does impose on those stands is that if it’s on private property, the child needs the owner’s permission and the stand can’t operate for more than two days in a row and more than eight days out of every 30.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.