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December 18, 2025

American Franchise Act Introduced in Senate

The bipartisan American Franchise Act (AFA) has officially been introduced in the U.S. Senate — a major milestone for the legislation and franchised businesses across America.

What’s Happening: The bipartisan Senate bill, led by Sens. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Angus King (I-ME), and cosponsored by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), James Lankford (R-OK), and Tim Sheehy (R-MT), is a companion to the House version of the bill, H.R. 5267, which now has 66 bipartisan cosponsors.

Why It Matters: After a decade of regulatory whiplash, the AFA would establish a clear, franchise-specific joint employer standard, protecting the independence of nearly 850,000 franchise small businesses and providing long-needed certainty for local owners, brands, and their employees. More than 100 franchisee, business, and diversity groups in nearly all 50 states recently issued their support for the measure.

The Bottom Line: Passing the American Franchise Act remains IFA’s top advocacy priority in 2026, and IFA will continue leading a full-scale national and regional advocacy push alongside its members and coalition partners through the IFA-led Coalition to Save Local Businesses.

Take Action: Contact your lawmakers in both the House and the Senate to tell them to support the American Franchise Act and protect local businesses in their states and districts!

Lawmakers Recognize Veterans in Franchising

On December 10, franchising took center stage at the U.S. House Small Business Committee hearing when U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.), co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Franchise Caucus, highlighted the model’s role in empowering workers and supporting veteran entrepreneurs.

Why It Matters: As Rep. Scholten testified, veterans make up 14% of franchise owners despite being just 7% of the population. At the hearing, Kevin Schmiegel, veteran and CEO of ZeroMils, told lawmakers that franchising’s structure, training, and “in business for yourself, not by yourself” model the skills veterans bring from military service, and one of the reasons that veteran-owned franchises are 30% more likely to hire other veterans.

The Takeaway: Watch the exchange here. Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle continue to recognize franchising as a powerful pathway to entrepreneurship and community growth, especially for those who served.

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IFA Seeks Loyalty Program Clarity

IFA led a joint letter urging Ken Kies, Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy at U.S. Treasury, to issue sub-regulatory guidance on the long-standing “Green Stamp” regulation governing hotel and travel loyalty programs.

Why It Matters: Along with the American Hotel and Lodging Association, Real Estate Roundtable and U.S. Travel Association, IFA sought clarity around the “Green Stamp” regulation that governs income tax policy on loyalty programs.

The Bottom Line: Loyalty programs across the hospitality ecosystem bring benefits to consumers and small businesses alike, and clarity and fairness for American businesses that employ millions of workers is crucial.

IFA Opposes Chicago “Head Tax” 

IFA is leading a coalition opposing Chicago’s proposed corporate “head tax” that would harm franchises operating in the Windy City.

What’s Happening: Surfacing in 2026 budget negotiations and supported by Mayor Brandon Johnson, the proposal would impose a $33-per-employee, per-month fee on companies with 500+ employees working in Chicago, impacting roughly 175 firms. 

Why It Matters: IFA is especially concerned with how employee headcount is defined, as ambiguous headcount definitions risk franchise fairness and could raise joint-employer implications if franchised workers are improperly attributed to brand-level employers. The deadline for the measure to be considered is Dec. 31, 2025.

FTC Revisits “Click-to-Cancel” Rule

The FTC is considering whether to reopen its Negative Option (“Click-to-Cancel”) rulemaking, which was vacated earlier this year by the Eighth Circuit.

What’s Happening: The agency has opened a public comment process open through January 2, 2026 following a petition from the Consumer Federation of America and the American Economic Liberties Project urging the FTC to revive the rule.

Why It Matters: The IFA Law Center has opposed the Negative Option Rule due to significant compliance costs and operational burdens it would impose on small business franchisees, and will submit formal comments to the FTC. To share your business perspective with IFA, please IFA General Counsel Sarah Davies (sdavies@franchise.org) ahead of the January 2, 2026 comment deadline.