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April 1, 2025

FTC Continues Focus on Franchise Disclosure

Missouri Good Joint Employer Bill Advances 

What Happened: The Senate Committee on Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence voted 5-0 in favor of HB 1644, advancing the joint-employer clarification legislation to the full Senate.

Why it Matters: HB 1644 provides critical legal clarity for franchising in Missouri, ensuring liability is based on actual control over employment decisions while protecting the independence of locally owned franchise businesses.

What’s Next: The bill now heads to the full Senate for a vote, before moving to the governor’s desk.

California Franchise Bill Pulled

What Happened: California AB 2632 has been pulled by bill sponsor Assemb. Josh Hoover following sustained advocacy and direct engagement from IFA and its members. 

Why it Matters: The bill would have imposed duplicative and unworkable regulatory requirements on franchise systems by mandating new fee segregation, disclosure, and audit requirements that conflict with existing law. 

The Big Picture: The outcome underscores the effectiveness of early, coordinated advocacy and reinforces the importance of continued engagement to prevent harmful franchise legislation at the state level. 

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American Franchise Act in Motion

What Happened: Over the past month the American Franchise Act has seen a groundswell of support from both sides of the aisle. The AFA has seen an additional 22 bipartisan members of Congress sign on to support it, including 2 Democrats and 20 Republicans – reaching over 104 cosponsors in the U.S. House.

Why it Matters: Expansion like this can only come from advocacy that you as members provide. Just this month, we’ve had a group of Maryland franchisees on Capitol Hill to advocate for the AFA, and IFA and member company Jani-King met with Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer to discuss the American Franchise Act and other labor priorities.

What’s Next: If you want to engage your lawmakers, or if you are interested in hosting your member of Congress at your business, you can contact IFA’s Haider Murtaza for more information – and make sure you write your senators and representative!

Committee Advances Educator Tax Deduction

What Happened: On March 25, the U.S. House Ways & Means Committee – which handles all federal tax legislation – voted unanimously to advance the SEED Act.

Dig Deeper: The SEED Act would allow early childhood educators to deduct up to $350 of out-of-pocket expenses from their income just like K-12 teachers currently can. Importantly, the Committee amended the bill to clarify that educators at for-profit early childhood centers are eligible for this tax benefit.  

What’s Next: Following the committee's approval, the bill now moves to the full House of Representatives for a floor vote. IFA supports this tax relief for educators at childcare brands and will be following its progress.