CRA Spring Newsletter
April 19, 2021 | CRA Spring Newsletter: Legislative, Regulatory and Public Affairs Updates
Message from the President
Things continue to move at a rapid pace in California as we are in the busy time of the year for legislative and regulatory action. The CRA team is working on several fronts on behalf of our members. I hope you will take a few minutes and read through this newsletter, so you have the most up to date information on what is going on in the state.

We are still monitoring the state’s full re-opening that is set to take place on June 15th, if the state maintains a low positivity rate and the vaccine roll-out continues to be successful. What does a “full” re-opening mean? What we are hearing NO capacity limits for businesses, but the state mask mandate will still be enforced. There will be a capacity limit of 5,000 for large in-person conferences and we are still debating the use of a vaccine QR code or vaccine “passport” for large scale events. In addition, there is discussion around the full re-opening of schools and the possibility of mandating the vaccine for children 12 and above once it is approved. We are also weighing our strategies to encourage CalOSHA to re-examine the COVID-19 Emergency Regulations considering new guidance from the CDC and the increase in vaccinations in the workforce. 

The next few weeks will be busy, and I encourage you to reach out should you have thoughts, concerns or questions about legislative or regulatory action. I can assure you if there is an issue at the local or state level that impacts the retail industry in California, CRA is involved and is working hard to make sure our members have the most up to date information. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me or the CRA team if we can be helpful in anyway.

Rachel 
Legislative Updates
Regulatory Updates
CRA News and Activities
Joint CRA/NACDS Californians for a Safe and Rapid Recovery Update

This Thursday, April 22 at 10:00am PDT, CRA and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) will be hosting a Zoom to update our members on the Californians for a Safe and Rapid Recovery (CSRR) efforts. We will be joined by Swing Strategies, whose team has been instrumental in organizing efforts to oppose the premium pay ordinances popping-up throughout the state. This is a great opportunity to get an idea of what has happened and what our planned next steps are. 

A calendar invite was provided to members. The Zoom meeting access information will be added Wednesday afternoon. If you plan on attending, please respond to the calendar invite accordingly as we are trying to get an accurate count. If colleagues within your company want to join, please send their email addresses to ryan@calretailers.com and we will get them added. Please also let Ryan know if you did not receive the invite.

This event is for CRA/NACDS members only. You may have received an invite from NACDS as well, if so, just know they are for the same event as we have overlapping members. 
CRA 2021 Policy Calls 

The remainder of CRA's 2021 monthly policy calls covering this year's legislative session is listed below (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 10:00am PT.

  • May 21
  • June 18
  • July 9
  • August 20
  • September 10
COVID-19 Resources and Updates
The CRA team continues to send updates to our members with the latest information and resources related to COVID-19 including city, county and statewide executive orders and guidance, status of color-coded county tier system, latest sector updates and more. This information is also compiled on CRA's COVID-19 Resources and Updates web page. To receive this proprietary information, members can send an email to cra@calretailers.com.
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 authored or signed on to during previous Legislative sessions as well as the latest updates on the 2021-2022 legislative session. The portal also contains newsletter, news alert archives 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.