During a three-day Wyoming conference of the Council of State Retail Associations in August, I talked with retail leaders from across the country about legislation being proposed in the states. Since 2005, association executives, company representatives and experts in various issues have been sharing information so that we can be more fully informed when an issue comes to Washington state. As you would expect, union-backed efforts are spreading across the country making such issues as "card check" (a union organizing bill) a national campaign. Fourteen states have seen legislation on card check. Health care mandates, family leave, plastic bags, guns in the workplace, retail theft and in-store clinics were just a few of the issues we discussed.
Vice President Mark Johnson also went to the conference and offered his concerns about the Seattle plastic bag ordinance, our family leave law, and our problems with retail theft. A number of people ribbed us for being such a liberal state. But Oregon's representative told us that she thought her state legislature hadn't seen a health mandate it didn't love; anything cutting edge would do.
Certainly the tide seems to be turning to state politics rather than national solutions. Our members who operate in more than one state would love to see uniformity in laws, but not if it looks like the West Coast. We had a number of national association representatives talk and when I asked them about Congress, they indicated that Congress wouldn't get much done no matter who the President was. They believed that interest groups would continue to campaign for their issues in the states, being strategic about which states to approach. Knowing that Washington state is an easy target for passionate pleas, we will likely see a continued upswing and more political pressure from groups housed outside Washington state.
Wyoming Governor David Freudenthal showed up late to the conference because Vice President Dick Cheney was flying into the Jackson Hole airport at the same time. This shut down the airport until Cheney left. But when the Governor arrived, he quickly charmed the crowd with his cowboy boots and attire, talking about his state whose population is a little under 500,000. Because Wyoming is rich in natural resources, the Governor has become quite involved in the environmental movement, trying to sort out what is best for his state. He told us that 70 percent of our energy was lost along the way, with us using only 30 percent efficiently. With a 1 ½ percent increase per year in energy needs, Governor Freudenthal told the crowd that energy conservation was the best opportunity for the future.
"Don't abandon the market system," he said. Governor Freudenthal told us that the market is efficient and that long range we will innovate with technology. He said the private sector will chart the course based on consumer expectations. He encouraged retailers to take a lead role in energy conservation and to be seen as a part of the answer.
We also heard Dr. Barry Asmus, a Senior Economist for the National Center for Policy Analysis, speak on the economy. He gave an overview of the founding of our country by explaining the early interest in allowing private property, which became the foundation for the country. Dr. Asmus told the crowd that it was private property that established our basic freedom to act. Allowing private property with limited government involvement set the course for the economic success of our country. Given this backdrop, he talked about many of the current issues with health care catching my attention. Dr. Asmus told us that where universal health care was in place, it was not working. He said that if the country has a young population base, it works because there is not much expense. But in countries such as ours with an aging population, he said universal health care wouldn't work. Dr. Asmus supported the idea of a high deductible catastrophic plan with a Health Savings Account for all of the low-end medical bills. He told us that when people are asked, five out of six will say OK to national health care as long as it is anybody but them paying. People have a credit card mentality, but the card they are using is someone else's credit.
I enjoyed his humor and his message that the economy no longer is about jobs. We are a global marketplace now and the economy is much more complex. A strong economy needs to focus on its tax rates. According to Dr. Asmus, the strongest countries are those that have lowered their tax rates. He suggested that our country could bounce back if it took a different view of its tax rate structure. He believes that if we are going to be successful in a global economy, then we are going to have to look at our taxes as a competitive issue. Dr. Asmus noted that our weak dollar can't compete in the global market right now. If we are going to be competitive, this will have to change.
Signatures to overturn Seattle's bag tax submitted
Opponents of Seattle's 20-cent tax on disposal plastic and paper shopping bags submitted more than 20,000 signatures to elections officials this week seeking to overturn the tax.
The King County Elections Office was validating the signatures to determine whether the required 14,374 valid signatures were submitted, the Seattle Post Intelligencer reported. A first batch of signatures took 11 days to gather at various Seattle groceries, the newspaper reported.
The ordinance authorizing the tax was supposed to go into effect in January but opponents from the Coalition to Stop the Seattle Bag Tax hope to schedule an election next year to repeal the charge. An election would delay putting the ordinance into effect.
Seattle city council members approved the tax in July in hopes of reducing the number of discarded plastic bags.
The Washington Retail Association has urged an aggressive recycling plan with public education as a more workable alternative for members. The association foresees unnecessary costs and potential health threats from the council's proposal. The tax will be a financial burden and inconvenience on many consumers and it will result in considerable and unnecessary new business costs to implement and continue the new tax. Further, there are health concerns with moving to reusable shopping bags if consumers fail to keep them clean and thereby transfer germs from previously-carried food products.
WRA President and CEO Jan Teague believes the association's stance better ensures the viability of its members while achieving the same outcomes of a healthy, clean and sustainable environment. She therefore has at minimum urged putting Seattle's proposal on hold until a thorough pilot program can be conducted to avoid the unintended consequences that concern the association.
Source: Seattle Post Intelligencer
State departments plan changes to help small businesses
A new report lists several proposals state government departments are considering to ease regulatory burdens for small businesses in Washington.
State regulatory agencies plan to simplify printed materials, improve training and produce an English and Spanish training video on tax basics as part of an action plan, the Governor's Office of Regulatory Assistance report says.
The report resulted from workshops held in May in four cities statewide by the departments of Community, Trade and Economic Development; Employment Security; Labor and Industries; Revenue; the Governor's Office of Regulatory Assistance; and the Office of Minority and Women's Business Enterprises.
Mark Johnson, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Washington Retail Association, participated in the roundtable discussions. Those invited to meetings in Longview, Bremerton, Everett and Wenatchee represented businesses with 20 or fewer employees.
Key findings from the meetings were that some small businesses: *Were unclear about all the government requirements they had to meet to start operations. *Lacked sufficient information on property tax obligations. *Wanted more advance word on requirements to prepare for audits. Small businesses can be audited by the state Employment Security, Labor & Industries and Revenue departments. *Wanted more state Websites to include other languages, especially Spanish.
Among the goals departments adopted after the roundtables meetings: *Explore creating checklists to help small businesses review city, county, state and federal government requirements on a monthly, quarterly and yearly basis. *Develop a multi-agency online calendar of business workshops, events and training opportunities that could be posted at www.Business.wa.gov, a Website designed to guide small business operators. *Add more step-by-step guidelines for new businesses on the state government Website. *Add Spanish and Vietnamese tabs to the Office of Minority and Women's Business Enterprises' Website. *Boost education efforts to help small businesses prepare for audits.
For other small business information, click on the "doing business" tab on the state Website, access.wa.gov.
Source: The Governor's Office of Regulatory Assistance
Congressional bill aims to combat "e-fencing"
A bill introduced in Congress this summer promises to make more tools available to law enforcement to crack down on the growing retail problem of electronic fencing of stolen goods.
The E-Fencing Enforcement Act of 2008 would require operators of online trading sites to keep and disclose contact information for high-volume sellers of merchandise. As defined in the bill, a seller would qualify as "high volume" if they sold something worth more than $5,000 or made offerings worth more than $12,000 during the course of a year.
Operators of online sales sites would be required to deny access to their sites to any sellers whose goods were suspected of being stolen, according to the bill.
The bill, co-sponsored by Democrats Robert C. Scott of Virginia and Artur Davis of Alabama, both House members, has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee for further discussion.
Source: Library of Congress
WRA sponsors free employment, safety seminar
The Washington Retail Association and Department of Labor & Industries are sponsoring a free seminar in Spokane next month on employment and safety issues.
Experts from the human relations consulting firm Humanix will offer tips on hiring and retaining valued employees and review ways to devise safety plans to help employers avoid costly workplace injuries.
The seminar includes admission into an exhibit hall where various safety-related vendors will be selling equipment and providing free materials to help employers learn state safety requirements. The exhibit will include a kiosk with a wealth of information on state rules and regulations related to operating a small business.
The seminar will run from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on September 24 at the Spokane Convention Center, 322 N. Spokane Falls Boulevard.
To register, send your name and company name to SmallBusiness@Lni.wa.gov. For more information, contact Ron Langley at 1-800-987-0145.
Consumer outlook up more than expected in August
Consumers showed a glimmer of hope in the economy this month as gasoline prices began to fall, according to the Associated Press.
The private research group, The Conference Board, reported this week that the confidence index rose to 56.9, up from a revised 51.9 in July, which was the index's largest gain since August of 2006, AP reported. August also was the second month in a row that consumer confidence rose after a six-month decline, according to AP.
"Consumer confidence readings suggest that the economy remains stuck in neutral, but may be showing signs of improvement by early next year," Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said in a statement.
The board also reported a significant gain in what it calls the "Expectations Index." It jumped to 52.8 in August from 42.7 in July, the largest monthly increase since November 2005, when the national economy suffered fallout from Hurricane Katrina.
Franco said falling gasoline prices helped boost consumers' moods this month.
AAA-Washington reported this week that the average Olympia-area price of a gallon of unleaded fuel, for example, had fallen 35 cents to $3.88 a gallon from a price of $4.23 a month earlier.
Source: Associated Press, AAA-Washington
Disaster preparedness seminar scheduled in Bellevue
A seminar on ways to prepare for disasters is scheduled on Oct. 23 at The Sheraton Bellevue Hotel, 100 112th Avenue Northeast.
The company, Disaster Preparedness Summit based in Palos Verdes, Calif., will conduct the day-long summit and cover topics from triage training to safety techniques, insurance claims management, recovery plans and governmental disaster preparedness resources.
Anyone in charge of risk management or responsible for tenants in a commercial business should consider the seminar.
To learn more about seminar sponsors and how to register, visit www.disastersummit.org. The site includes a schedule of similar summits and a fuller schedule of topics to be covered.
Source: The Disaster Preparedness Summit
Registration is now open for the Governor's Safety and Health Conference.
Thousands of workers are injured, and sadly, more than 100 Washington workers die from job-related injuries each year. Many of these injuries and losses are preventable. The conference provides resources to assist in design and maintenance of a sound safety and healthy culture at your workplace. The benefits include; reduced injuries, less time lost from work, money saved on industrial insurance premiums and an increase in profits. The comprehensive safety skills gained will benefit you far beyond the workplace.
There are two great pre-conference sessions, one dealing with wellness for commercial drivers that is a MUST SEE for any type of driver working out of their vehicle. This will take place Tuesday, September 23, 8:30am - 4:30pm at the DoubleTree Hotel, Spokane Falls Ballroom. For more information, please contact Sharon Drozdowsky at (360) 902-4622 or dros235@LNI.wa.gov . This is valuable for delivery drivers too!
The second session deals with Solutions for an Aging Workforce. Many workplaces are confronted by the demographic reality of an aging workforce. While older workers do have particular needs, solutions must take into account the needs of workers at all stages of their careers and lives. The course will examine specific issues, including workplace design for safety and health; work/life balance; maintaining health as we age; the roles of employers, employees, the larger community, and public policy in addressing this demographic change. For more information, visit http://nwcenter.washington.edu or contact Maribeth Moore, Northwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety, 206-543-1069 or moomoore@u.washington.edu.
Registration is now open for the Governor's 2008 Economic and Workforce Development Conference, Sept. 3-4, in Lynnwood.
Learn new strategies, applaud best practices and make important connections that will help move your workforce development organization forward.
The conference features: · An update from Gov. Chris Gregoire on The Next Washington. · Recognition of 2008 Economic and Workforce Development Award winners. · Cutting-edge workshops on industry clusters, Innovation Partnership Zones and the green economy. · Compelling breakout sessions to help your organization thrive in a global marketplace.
Register now and qualify for the early-bird registration fee of $150. After Aug. 8, it's $200. Tickets to this two-day event include continental breakfast, lunch and an evening reception.
Join us and learn new ways to keep Washington's economy and workforce moving ahead!
Washington Workforce Development News: Keep posted with the latest workforce development news in Washington state. Reply to this message if you would like to receive our brief weekly e-mail news.
The Washington Attorney General (AG) announced these upcoming free community shred events and free identity theft prevention forums providing opportunities to shred important personally identifiable documents. Bring your documents to be shredded!
Below is a list of upcoming events. You can find more information and additional shredding sites online at www.atg.wa.gov/shredathon.aspx.
CENTRALIA: Wednesday, September 3, 2008, 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. Location TBA. Guard It! identity theft forum with Attorney General Rob McKenna: Noon to 1:30 pm.Shredding donated by LeMay
GOLDENDALE: Tentatively planned for Wednesday, September 10, 2008. Location TBA. In conjunction with Guard It! identity theft forum with Attorney General Rob McKenna.
TACOMA: Ongoing, Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Tacoma Recycling Co., Inc., 2318 South Tacoma Way Offers free document destruction for private individuals who bring in less than 10 pounds of material during regular business hours. Consumers may witness their papers being destroyed. Businesses will be charged for this service. Info: (253) 474-9559
Washington Retail Association | 618 Quince St SE, STE A | PO Box 2227 | Olympia | WA | 98501
The Washington Retail Association, WRA, is a 501 C 6 trade association formed to advocate for Washington State’s retailers at the local, state and national level. Since 1987, the WRA has protected Washington's retailers from unreasonable taxes, fees, regulations and legislation. The efforts of the WRA benefit all Washington state retailers and help fuel statewide economic growth.
