Legislative Corner: The Top Issues & Actions of February 2022
NATIONAL REPORT — Convenience Store News canvasses local trade associations and news sources to cover the latest issues affecting the channel locally.
This month, a number of local legislative activities occurred in New York and Pennsylvania:
NEW YORK
Lottery Compensation
The New York Association of Convenience Stores (NYACS) and 13 other trade groups representing New York Lottery sales agents launched a campaign to increase their compensation from 6 percent of sales to 7 percent. They are asking Governor Kathy Hochul and the Legislature to include in their upcoming state budget a plan to phase in the hike over the next four years, increasing the commission rate one-quarter or 1 percent each year. The cost of selling and redeeming lottery tickets has increased sharply since the inception of the lottery in 1967, but the commission rate has never been adjusted.
Extended Producer Responsibility
In her proposed state budget, Gov. Hochul recommended a sweeping "extended producer responsibility" program for paper, plastic, glass or metal used as product packaging, excluding bottle bill containers.
NYACS holds that this would shift responsibility for recycling these materials away from municipalities by statutorily shoving them back down the throats of those who produce them, forcing businesses to spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing and managing systems to collect and recycle the materials on a massive scale by 2026 — costs that would ultimately be paid by consumers. It would also force retailers of private-label products to redundantly pay into the envisioned "producer responsibility organizations" even though the manufacturer would already be obligated to do so, according to the association. NYACS is fighting this initiative.
Truck Emission Limits
Over NYACS' objections, New York's Department of Environmental Conservation has adopted an "Advanced Clean Truck Rule" modeled after California's law. It requires manufacturers of vehicles greater than 8,500 pounds to sell an increasing number of zero-emission vehicles. The state had previously approved legislation mandating all cars and light trucks sold in New York as of 2035 must be zero-emission, which also was opposed by NYACS.
Bottle Bill Expansion
A state Assemblyman re-introduced a bill, opposed by NYACS, that would expand New York's Bottle Bill to also cover juice, energy drinks, packaged iced tea and coffee, and increase the deposit from 5 cents to 10 cents. NYACS believes this would not be a good scenario for c-stores, whose back rooms are already clogged with returned containers awaiting pickup that sometimes never comes.
PENNSYLVANIA
Local Plastic Ordinances Spread Across Pennsylvania
Following the expiration of Pennsylvania's statewide preemption on local plastic-related ordinances in December, a number of local municipalities across the commonwealth have begun or restarted efforts to pass prohibitions against single-use plastics such as bags and straws.
To date, Philadelphia, West Chester Borough, Narberth and West Goshen Township have enacted ordinances, while legislation is under consideration in more than a half-dozen other jurisdictions, including Pittsburgh.
The Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association (PFMA) is monitoring the progress of these and any other new efforts to limit or prohibit the use of single-use plastics, and working with local jurisdictions to ensure member businesses are aware of new and changing requirements.
Campaigns for Pennsylvania Governor and Toomey Senate Seat Begin to Coalesce
Two key elections in Pennsylvania this year are likely to have profound impacts on the business climate of the state for years to come. PFMA is closely following both the race for governor and the race to fill the U.S. Senate seat held by the retiring Pat Toomey.
In the gubernatorial campaign, Democrat and current Attorney General Josh Shapiro stands alone as the party's nominee, while on the Republican side, more than a dozen candidates have declared their candidacy, including three state Senators, two former members of Congress, and numerous members of the private sector.
As for the Senate, ahead of the May primaries, a number of Democrats and Republicans are challenging for their party's nomination. The biggest name on either side is surgeon-turned-TV host Dr. Mehmet Oz, whose financial muscle has so far put him on a lot of television screens but not at the top of regional GOP committee straw polls. Delaware County business owner Dave White and former hedge fund executive David McCormick took the top spots in January regional straw polls, which are not binding. The state GOP opted not to issue a formal endorsement this year due to the number of candidates in contention.
For Democrats, the race for the nomination increasingly appears to be between Congressman Conor Lamb, Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta and Dr. Val Arkoosh, chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. To date, Fetterman holds a fundraising advantage over his competitors, but Congressman Lamb leads in polling among party officials.
PFMA Testifies on Liquor Privatization
In January, PFMA president and CEO Alex Baloga voiced PFMA's support for the privatization of alcohol sales during testimony before the Pennsylvania House Liquor Control Committee. His comments were in response to proposed legislation by Rep. Natalie Mihalek (R-Allegheny) that would privatize alcohol sales in the state through a constitutional amendment.
"Our membership believes strongly in the principle of maximizing consumer choice. Satisfying the needs and wants of our customers is an important relationship that fundamentally underpins the retail business model," Baloga said in his remarks. "From this perspective, we support policies that would enhance our ability to meet consumer demand."
Baloga pointed out several instances during the pandemic where Pennsylvania's current control system has hindered the ability of retailers to maximize customer safety. Among them, he noted that by law, grocery and convenience stores must set aside specific registers at which customers purchasing wine or beer can check out. Under social distancing guidelines, this had the effect of forcing customers into unsafe proximity for potentially unsafe periods of time.