CRA Member Newsletter
July 24, 2023 | CRA Newsletter: Legislative, Budget, Regulatory, Local, Political & Other Updates
Message from the President
For the next few weeks, all is calm at the State Capitol as we are on summer break. As we digest what bills we will focus on at the end of the session push, we will also strategize how to best advocate for our members prior to the September 14th end of session deadline.

I was thrilled to be appointed by Governor Newsom and CalRecycle to the SB 54 Advisory Committee. CRA is one of only two business associations on this committee, which gives CRA members the unique opportunity to ensure the retail perspective is considered as we begin the process of implementing SB 54. CRA's leadership on issues such as EPR and the circular economy was on display as we were able to convince Senator Josh Newman to hold his textile EPR bill (SB 707) to work with CRA members on language. I hope you will take advantage of the opportunity to join Senator Newman at our EPR work session which is part of our 2023 annual meeting in October - more info on that below.

When the legislature reconvenes in August it will be full speed ahead and the CRA team will continue to work on issues important to our members such as workplace violence, retail theft, receipt bans, corporate climate reporting, labor and other issues important to our members.

As always if you have questions or input on any issues going through the legislative process do not hesitate to reach out to the CRA team.

Rachel

In this Issue:
  • Legislative Updates
  • Regulatory Updates
  • CA Community Pharmacy Coalition Updates
  • CRA Outreach and Activities
  • CRA In The News
  • Cal-ORCA Updates
  • CRA Member Portal
Legislative Updates
All legislative advocacy letters are available on CRA's member portal. Access the portal here.
Regulatory Updates
All regulatory advocacy letters are available on CRA's member portal. Access the portal here.
California Community Pharmacy Coalition Updates
Board of Pharmacy
The CRA team testified at the Board of Pharmacy's July meetings, which included their Legislation and Regulation; Enforcement and Compounding; and Licensing Committees meetings held on July 18 and July 19. The CRA team testified in support of AB 782 (McKinnor), in opposition to AB 1286 (Haney) and in support of remote processing. The CRA team also submitted another oppose letter for AB 1286 updated for Senate Appropriations. We added some fiscal arguments and are going to reach out to request a meeting with the Appropriations consultant. Read the letter here.

The CRA team sent a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom supporting and advocating for the appointment of Robert Nickell to the Board of Pharmacy. Nickell is a highly qualified candidate, possessing decades of diverse experience in the field of Pharmacy. In 1981, Nickell earned his degree from the University of the Pacific School of Pharmacy. Since then, Nickell has held distinguished positions, such as President of the California Pharmacists Association, and received awards and recognitions including California Pharmacist of the Year and Innovative Pharmacist of the Year.

Medi-Cal RX
Similar to the weekly retail roundup the CCPC coalition will receive a weekly coalition specific update, which includes Medi-Cal RX. Access the last update here.
CRA Outreach and Activities
CRA Annual Meeting
Sponsorships Now Available!
Save the date for CRA's Annual Meeting, which will be held Monday, October 2 and Tuesday, October 3 at the Irvine Marriott located at 18000 Von Karman Ave, Irvine, CA 92612. Special invited guests include Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis; Senator Josh Newman (author of SB 707); California Highway Patrol Commissioner Sean Duryee; CalRecycle Director Rachel Machi Wagoner, Public Policy Institute of California President and CEO and Former 28th Chief Justice of California Tani Cantil-Sakauye and other policy leaders from California.

Topics include PAGA Reform; Retail Theft/ORC; Environmental Sustainability including an SB 54 Advisory committee update and Textile EPR; Labor & Employment issues; 2024 political forecast; updates on the California legislative and regulatory environment.

Sponsorships now available. Individual
registration opens August 1st.

For more information please email CRA@CALRETAILERS.COM; Individual tickets available August 1st while space is available; Sponsorship partnerships open to CRA members and nonmembers.
CRA President and CEO Rachel Michelin Receives
2023 Business Makes LA County Work Award

CalRetailers' President and CEO Rachel Michelin received the "Queen Bee" 2023 Business Makes LA County Work Award (the Bizzis), presented by the Los Angeles County Business Federation. The Bizzis honor extraordinary business community leadership including those who lead small businesses to take on big advocacy challenges, head organizations that take a stand for entire industries and serve in elected offices that consistently empower businesses to grow. The CRA team appreciates its continued partnership with other leaders throughout the business community who are members of BizFed and share CalRetailers' commitment to ensuring businesses can thrive in the state.
CRA President Rachel Michelin attended the annual Food Marketing Institute's (FMI) States Issues Conference in Utah and spoke about Retail Theft, PAGA Reform efforts and Labor issues. The conference is an annual event that brings together food retail grocery associations and food and grocery company professionals from each state to discuss state legislative issues of interest to the food industry. As more and more policymaking occurs at the state and local level, this meeting provides an important opportunity to learn the lessons of the 2023 state legislative sessions and strategize for 2024. Learn more about the conference here.
CRA Monthly Policy Calls

The following includes the remainder of the 2023 monthly policy call calendar covering this year's legislative session (dates are subject to change). For CRA members' designated contacts who are not regularly receiving these policy call reminders and calendar invites, please email cra@calretailers.com to be added moving forward. Policy calls are held on Fridays at 11:00am PT.

  • No call in August
  • September 8
In The News
In Case You Missed It...


Resource Recycling


KRON 4 San Francisco

Santa Barbara News-Press

National Law Review

Food Safety News

KQED

Associated Press
Also appeared in:

San Francisco Chronicle

Agri-Pulse

The National Desk

Great American Insurance Group

Feedstuffs

Bay Area News Group

KTLA-TV 5 (CW Affiliate) Los Angeles

Capital & Main

Fox News Cavuto Live

Security Info Watch

NBC Bay Area

The Sun US Edition

Fox 40-TV Sacramento

Southern CA News Group
Cal-ORCA Updates
SAVE THE DATE!
NEW Cal-ORCA Virtual Summit Coming Later this Year

Founded in 2012, The California Organized Retail Crimes Association (CAL-ORCA) is an organization dedicated to fostering partnerships between law enforcement and loss prevention professionals to provide training, combat Organized Retail Crime (ORC) and other crimes impacting the business community. Cal-ORCA will be releasing it's exclusive 2023 Virtual Summit offering later this year, on Wednesday, November 8. Stay tuned for details!

To Stay up to date on Virtual Summit details including sponsor and vendor opportunities and the developing program, visit Cal-ORCA.org and be sure to follow Cal-ORCA on social media!

CRA Member Portal
CRA members get access to CRA's exclusive online member portal, which contains coalition letters, floor alerts, regulatory comments and testimony that California Retailers Association gave, authored or signed on to during the current and previous Legislative sessions. The portal also contains newsletter, news alert archives, advocacy materials (including our new digital advocacy packet) and important association governance documents for your reference. If you have not yet received your login credentials and access instructions please email cra@calretailers.com. We are also available to answer any questions you may have regarding portal navigation.