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June 10, 2026

Today is World Franchise Day!

Join us in celebrating over 832,000 local franchises and their 9 million employees here in the U.S. and countless more abroad, generating opportunities in every corner of the world.

New Jersey Hotel Bill Receives Hearing 

New Jersey Senate bill S.4202, which would impose extreme regulations for hotel franchises in the state, received a hearing in the Senate Commerce Committee this week, where IFA's Jeff Hanscom testified in opposition. 

Why It Matters: The bill would make New Jersey an outlier in hotel franchise regulation, rewriting contractual relationships and creating new litigation risk that discourages investment.

What’s Next: The bill passed committee and is expected to be referred to the NJ Senate Budget Committee, while Assembly companion A.5050 has yet to receive a hearing. IFA will continue to monitor and engage.

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House Subcommittee Debates Data Privacy

On June 3^rd, the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade held a hearing on data privacy, in particular the IFA-supported SECURE Data Act (the Securing and Establishing Consumer Uniform Rights and Enforcement over Data Act), H.R. 8413.

Go Deeper: Introduced by House Republicans (led by Rep. John Joyce, R-PA), the SECURE Data Act would establish a comprehensive federal framework for consumer privacy rights and create a uniform national standard. A recent hearing highlighted a sharp partisan divide over the bill’s preemption of overlapping state data privacy laws.

What’s Next: Without a Senate companion bill or broad bipartisan support, the SECURE Data Act faces a difficult path to enactment. Even so, it is expected to serve as a key marker in the ongoing federal privacy debate.

Franchisees Advocate for AFA on Capitol Hill This Week

During their annual fly-in events in Washington, D.C. this week, franchisee groups urged Congress to support the American Franchise Act, which would provide long-term joint employer certainty for franchisors and franchisees.

What Happened: KFC franchisees, along with health and fitness brands and their franchisees, met with key lawmakers to expand support for the American Franchise Act, underscoring the broad and growing coalition behind the legislation. The bill now has 128 bipartisan cosponsors in the U.S. House.

What’s Next: IFA remains steadfast in getting the bill considered in the House Education and Workforce committee before the August recess.

Register for IFA26 Advocacy Summit

There has never been a more important bill for franchising than the American Franchise Act (AFA), and now is our one opportunity to get it passed through Congress. We need everyone in franchising to join IFA in Washington, D.C., this September for the IFA26 Advocacy Summit.

Why It Matters: IFA26 Advocacy Summit gives you the opportunity to meet directly with your congressional lawmakers and advocate for passage of the AFA to provide long-term certainty for your businesses. By providing clarity around the joint employer standard, this legislation would protect both your business and the next generations of franchise entrepreneurs.

Take Action: Registration is open! Contact IFA’s Erica Farage with any questions. See you in Washington!