OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma House of Representatives today voted to stop giving hot beverages the cold shoulder.

House Bill 1772 by Rep. Lonnie Sims, R-Jenks, directs the State Board of Health to create a multi-seasonal license allowing snow cone stands serving hot beverages to remain open year-round.

Sims said the bill was requested from a local charity organization that provides jobs for people experiencing homeliness. If HB1772 becomes law, the charity would be able to operate the stand year-round and provide a more stable path for these Oklahomans to earn enough money for housing and end their homelessness.

“There is no greater accomplishment as a public servant than to remove the barriers placed before our citizens and set them on a path for greater success” Sims said. “My thanks to Curbside Chronicle for all the work they do in the community and my fellow members of the House of Representatives for supporting this legislation.”

The Curbside Chronicle is a program of the Homeless Alliance, an organization working to end homelessness in Oklahoma City.

Sims filed similar legislation last year, House Bill 3747, which was approved by the House but was not heard in the Senate due to the shortened session as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bill passed the House 94-1 and is now eligible to be heard by the Senate. Its author in the opposite chamber is Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond.