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The Retail Advocate

The Retail EmployerJanuary 2008

State Issues

General Assembly 2008, Week #1

The 60 day 2008 General Assembly session is well under way. At the completion of the first week, our Virginia Retail Federation (VRF) lobbyists have reviewed over 2,600 bills, with over 100 bills having an impact on the retail industry. Click on the composite view to review the bills being followed by the VRF.

While there are numerous bills that will negatively impact the retail industry, one of the most potentially damaging is SB351, patron Senator Roscoe Reynolds. This bill will raise the felony threshold from $200 to $500. The VRF feels that increasing the felony threshold sends a message to shoplifters that they can now steal $300 more and only be charged with a misdemeanor. We have helped defeat this bill many times in the past; however, this year there several legislators who believe it’s time to increase the threshold because it hasn’t changed since the 1980’s. We might note that these legislators tend to be listening to prosecutors and judges whose work loads are most affected.

We need your help in defeating this bill (SB351). The bill is being heard this week in the Criminal Sub-Committee of the Senate Courts Committee. Please e-mail each person on the sub-committee and express your opposition to SB351.

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Sales Tax Absorption, HB 294, Patron Del. Bobby Orrock and SB 147, Patron Senator Walter Stosch.

These bills would create the wild-wild-west in marketing by allowing retailers to pay the sales tax for their customers any time they wanted to, and to advertise that they are doing so. Our VRF legislative policy supports only Statewide Sales Tax Holidays allowed by the General Assembly.

The RMA surveyed its members last week to determine if the membership at large continued to support the VRF’s legislative policy on this issue. The results of that survey indicated that 80% of the respondents want to maintain the current policy. The VRF will oppose both bills.

If you have any questions concerning legislation included in the composite view please call George Peyton, 804-334-2932.Back to top

Federal Issues*

* © 2007. NRF Enterprises, Inc. used with permission.

SSA delays "no-match" letters, enforcement

A lawsuit by a coalition of business, labor and civil liberties groups has forced the Social Security Administration to delay the enforcement of rules that would have required employers who receive "no-match" letters to determine employee legality and fire illegal immigrants. Labor groups argued in the lawsuit that the rule was potentially unfair to legal workers and that it did not consider the impact on small businesses. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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Arizona to serve as testing ground for strict immigration law

Arizona will begin enforcing one of the toughest state immigration laws in the U.S. in January. The new law suspends the business license of any company that knowingly hires illegal immigrants for up to 10 days. The license will be revoked upon a second offense. The Washington Post

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Bill could end item pricing in Massachusetts groceries

A bill has been introduced in the Massachusetts Legislature that would exempt grocery stores from putting prices on individual items and require them to install electronic shelf tags instead. Critics, however, say the bill would leave consumers with no way of knowing if they are being overcharged. BostonNOW

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Illinois to bring in the New Year with new smoking ban

New Year's Eve revelers at bars and restaurants in Illinois will have to snuff out their cigarettes at the stroke of midnight, when the state's new indoor smoking ban goes into effect. "To become effective in the middle of New Year's Eve celebrations is not ideal," said Sheila O'Grady of the Illinois Restaurant Association, but she predicts eateries will comply. Chicago Sun-Times

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Oregon cities oppose shopping-cart bill

A grocery association based in Oregon is supporting statewide legislation that will allow cities to impose a $50 fine on retailers for each shopping cart that is left abandoned three days after a report is filed. Some cities however, including Eugene and Springfield, are opposing the legislation, saying that such a measure would be costly. The Register-Guard (Eugene, Ore.)

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New law: Illinois gift cards must be good for five years

An Illinois law that goes into effect Tuesday mandates gift cards sold on or after Jan. 1 must be good for five years and no fees can be incurred to diminish a gift card's value. Consumers were expected to spend $26.3 billion on gift cards during the holiday shopping season, according to the NRF. STLtoday.com/Associated Press

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Washington restaurants face minimum-wage hike

Washington's minimum wage, which has been the highest in the U.S. since 2001, goes up 14 cents to $8.07 on Tuesday. "Restaurant owners understand that they can't raise their prices enough for consumers to absorb that all the time," said Camille St. Onge, a spokeswoman for the Washington Restaurant Association. "So what do you do? It's hard to pinpoint where a tipping point would be, but good business owners are cognizant we have to do something different." The minimum wage in California and Massachusetts increases to $8 on Tuesday. The Seattle Times/Associated Press

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Boston trans-fats ban could begin later this year

Boston health regulators on Thursday took early steps toward banning trans fats in foods sold in restaurants and stores. New York City prohibited trans fat in fall 2006, prompting many national chains to switch to healthier alternatives. The Boston Globe

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