Retail Theft
The Cal Retailers-supported package of bi-partisan Retail Theft bills passed out of Assembly and Senate Appropriations Committees. The bills now head for a vote of the full legislature and then to the Governor's desk for signature. The bills in the package are as follows:
Assembly Retail Theft Bills
AB 1779 (Irwin) Allows for cross jurisdictional prosecution among county district attorneys.
AB 1802 (Jones-Sawyer) Makes the Organized Retail Theft statute permanent and eliminates the sunset on the Organized Retail Crime Task Force (CRA already secured permanent funding for the ORC Task Forces in 2021).
AB 1960 (Rivas) Sentencing enhancements for property damage due to smash and grabs.
AB 1972 (Alanis) Adds Rail to the Property Crimes Task Force Cargo Theft.
AB 2943 (Zbur) Creates a new serial retail theft felony, expands probable cause to, among other things include video, provides protection to retailers to not be deemed a public nuisance if they call law enforcement to respond to retail theft, provides clarity on the ability to aggregate up to the $950 threshold.
AB 3209 (Berman) Establishes Retail Theft Restraining Orders.
Senate Retail Theft Bills
SB 905 (Wiener) Removes locked door loophole for car break-ins.
SB 982 (Wahab) Makes the Organized Retail Theft Statute permanent.
SB 1144 (Skinner) Closes the loophole for off site transactions for on-line marketplaces.
SB 1242 (Min) Sentencing enhancements for theft related to arson.
SB 1416 (Newman) Sentencing enhancements for professional Organized Retail Theft.
The bills' continued swift movement through the legislature make it clear that Retail Theft policy priorities have shifted this year. This seismic shift is a testament to the California Retailers Association team's strategic and persistent work with state leadership including the Governor's office, Speaker's office, Senate Pro Tem, various members of the legislature and other key stakeholders to ensure Cal Retailers is in the best position possible as bills continue to be debated and make their way through the legislative process.
Additionally, the Little Hoover Commission just released their report on Retail Theft, which concluded that, among other findings, the state should prioritize data collection and collaboration with research institutions as it seeks to understand and combat retail theft in the long term. The report was prompted by a request from 66 members of the legislature to study issues surrounding retail theft. The report notes that since the Legislature and the voters are now considering changes to the penal code sections addressing retail theft, the Commission’s recommendations focus on long-term improvements in the way the state reports and assesses retail theft and law enforcement’s response. CRA President Michelin testified in one of their hearings last year. Access the report here.
Labor Bills
SB 1446 (Smallwood-Cuevas). Grocery retail store and retail drug establishment employees: self-service checkout and consequential workplace technology. One of our top priorities heading into August, the CRA team continues to lead opposition to this bill, which would effectively ban self checkouts and serve as a "nose under the tent" for drastic regulatory action on artificial intelligence and technology. This bill is currently in Assembly Appropriations waiting a hearing date, which we expect to be the first week of August.
SB 1089 (Smallwood-Cuevas). Grocery and Pharmacy Closure Notices. This bill is in Assembly Appropriations. CRA has worked closely with a coalition of business groups and have submitted amendments to the author and sponsor. We are still working on a few pieces of the bill, but largely the author and sponsor have been receptive to our concerns.
SB 399 (Wahab). Employer Communications: Intimidation. We have heard this bill is being resurrected and expected to be acted upon in August in Assembly Appropriations- hearing date not yet set. CRA was in strong opposition last year, as currently drafted, and we will continue to be opposed along with a broad business coalition. We are unsure if there will be amendments, but we will keep CRA members updated.
SB 1116 (Portantino). Unemployment Insurance for Workers on Strike. This bill was held in the Assembly Insurance committee. It may come back in a different form in August, but that’s yet to be determined.
EPR and Environmental Legislation
There are myriad of legislative proposals this session that expand on an already growing and fragmented Extended Producer Responsibility system in California. As we head into the end of the 2023-2024 legislative session, we are focused on two EPR bills in particular - SB 1143 (Allen) Household hazardous waste: producer responsibility and AB 863 (Aguiar-Curry) Carpet and flooring recycling: producer responsibility organizations: fines: succession: training. The CRA team continues to actively oppose both bills and will be working throughout July with large coalitions that have formed against the bills to ensure the retail industry's concerns are included in discussions between industry and the bills' authors/sponsors. Please send any feedback your company has on these bills to sarah@calretailers.com so we can include as many specifics as possible in the conversations we are having.
SB 707 (Newman). Textile Extended Producer Responsibility. CRA has been working closely with the author’s office and they are still open to amendments. Please talk with CRA staff and send amendments as soon as you can.
AB 2236 (Bauer-Kahan) / SB 1053 (Blakespear) Plastic Bag Ban. These bills will be heard next in Senate Appropriations. They were amended to remove all reusable bag definitions, which CRA supports. The bills are drafted now to only allow paper bags to be sold at a “point of sale,” defined as a place where purchased goods may be transferred to a customer, including, but not limited to, a checkout counter, self-checkout kiosk, in-store pickup, curbside delivery and home delivery. This means a reusable bag can be sold anywhere in the store except those locations covered under point of sale. We are working with the author to narrow the point of sale definition to exclude in-store pick up and home delivery.
Artificial Intelligence
AB 2930 (Bauer-Kahan) – Automated Decision Tools. This bill is currently waiting a hearing date in Senate Appropriations. The CRA team needs feedback on the language to present to the author. Please send any feedback your teams have ASAP to sarah@calretailers.com.
Gift Cards
SB 1272 (Laird). Gift Card Redeemable Amount. CRA has asked for the following amendments: delayed implementation until Jan. 2026; raise to $15 or less Jan 2026; raise to $20 or less Jan 2031; study by the appropriate agency (DoJ or CHP) on fraud related to the raise in cash back amount; and insert a one use requirement. The author is working on feedback.
Alcohol
AB 2991 (Valencia). Retail Alcohol Payments Electronic Funds Transfers. This bill is currently in Senate Appropriations. The author’s office spoke with Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) on the language and ABC suggested they strike the language defining “direct store delivery.” The reasoning is, it is not currently defined in law and ABC does not think it is necessary. CRA is still in support of the bill, but please send us any concerns with our position.
Reminder- Historic PAGA Reform Signed Into Law, Effective Immediately
The two PAGA bills, which contain the language for the final negotiated PAGA Reform deal - SB 92 and AB 2288 - were passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Gavin Newsom with an urgency clause, which means the bills took effect immediately upon signing. View the Floor Alert for both bills here.
CRA will be hosting a briefing on what is in the bill package, how the negotiations came together and answer questions members may have after the bills have moved through the process & are signed. Be on the lookout for call information, which will be sent out soon.
Thank you to those who supported efforts to secure meaningful reform to CA's Private Attorney's General Act. These new laws will curb lawsuit abuse, allow employers the time to fix mistakes and make sure workers are made whole.
State Budget
Governor Newsom signed the 2024 State Budget bill. Get more info here.
Upcoming Legislative deadlines:
- August 5 End of Summer recess; session resumes
- August 15: Suspense File hearings in both houses
- August 31 Year 2 session ends at 11:59pm
CRA Monthly Policy Calls
The following includes the remainder of the 2024 monthly policy call calendar covering this year's legislative session (dates are subject to change). Policy calls are held on Fridays at 10:00am PT.
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