Every autumn, PFMA hosts its Fall Legislative Conference, a time for our members to meet with each other and with policymakers to discuss the latest legislative and regulatory developments in the Commonwealth.
This year, as we have for the past several years, we convened in Hershey for two days of golf, speaking events and panel sessions. We were lucky enough to hear from Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding, PA House Majority Leader Matt Bradford, and Congressman Lloyd Smucker. We also hosted a panel discussion on organized retail theft and illicit trade from nationwide coalition USA-IT, and members had the opportunity to pose questions about alcohol policy to staff from Flaherty & O’Hara, an industry leader in providing legal services and counsel to the beverage alcohol industry.
Our Fall Legislative Conference is a great opportunity for members and association staff to process and gain consensus on policy proposals impacting our industry. For PFMA’s government relations team, it lets us move forward with a clarified sense of purpose as state lawmakers return to Harrisburg for an early winter push on their legislative agenda.
Some years there are so many competing issues that it can take time for priorities to resolve into focus. This year, while indeed there are many issues demanding our attention, some quickly rose to the top.
Retail theft, perhaps more than any other single issue we have seen in years, has brought together our membership in support of a common goal; to update Pennsylvania’s organized retail crime statute to more effectively target the professional criminal gangs who are leading and profiting from this illegal and increasingly dangerous activity.
PFMA has been working with allies in the state Senate and House to develop legislation that would not only add this needed reform, but establish a dedicated task force under the purview of the state Attorney General to focus specifically on organized retail theft and prosecute those responsible. In the Senate, SB 596 passed out of committee last month, and we are hopeful of a bipartisan vote in support of the measure on the Senate floor before the new year.
Elsewhere at the state level PFMA priority issues include accelerating the ongoing reduction in the Corporate Net Income Tax Rate, increasing Net Operating Loss deductions, and alcohol sales reforms.
Our attention is also focused on several items at the federal and local levels. In Washington, we are working with our national partners to closely monitor progress on the Farm Bill, advocating for priorities such as maintaining SNAP choice, making online SNAP permanent and protecting against an EBT fee/tax. Locally, we are engaged with allies in Philadelphia on a range of topics as City Council nears the end of its own legislative session in December. There, we have provided input on a proposed shopping cart containment ordinance, possible expansion to the city’s contract worker protections, and a business trespassing ordinance, among others.
It is events like our Fall Legislative Conference that truly enhance our ability to successfully convey the views of our members on issues like these to elected officials and regulators. We appreciate everyone who was able to join us in person this year and hope to see members both old and new when we reconvene in 2024.