June 2022

Good afternoon,

As the oppressive summer heat descends upon Central Texas, interim hearings at the Capitol are starting to become less frequent. In perhaps the last hearing that will directly impact TRA for the next couple of months, House Business and Industry met this past Wednesday to discuss Organized Retail Crime. This was one of the first issues the newly formalized Tax & Legislative Committee (if you missed this announcement, check it out here) addressed and I used this hearing as an opportunity to offer my first verbal testimony on behalf of TRA. For more on this hearing, agency action, and other interim news, check out the Legislative Update portion of the newsletter below.

Both our Tax & Lege and Governance Committees will continue their work throughout the summer and we’re always looking for feedback and participation from all members. When our Tax & Lege Committee meets again in July, they will be discussing several important issues including sales tax sourcing, data privacy, and cyber defense insurance. Please let me know if you or your company would like to weigh in on any of these issues at our next committee meeting. Our Governance Committee will also be meeting toward the end of June to conduct an initial review of TRA By-Laws and operating procedures. Any and all recommendations for how TRA can be more responsive to our members is welcome and can be considered by that committee.

As you’ve hopefully seen by now, we’ve also opened registration for TRA Forum 2022. If you have not done so yet, you can register, sponsor, and check out the tentative agenda here.

Finally, I would be remiss if I failed to mention the special election held in South Texas yesterday. Republican Mayra Flores won the TX-34 congressional seat without a runoff, making her the country’s first Mexican-born Congresswoman. In a region dominated by Democrats since the Civil War, Flores’ win continues a trend of Republican competitiveness in the Rio Grande Valley. While Flores will have to run in a more Democrat leaning district in November (post-redistricting), last night’s victory has state level Republicans electrified at the potential pick-up opportunities for competitive state house districts that were drawn within TX-34 during redistricting. For more coverage on this race and the long term trends we’re seeing in South Texas, check out this short MSNBC clip.

Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions,

John McCord
Executive Director
Texas Retailers Association

The month of June began with somber but immensely important business in and around the Texas Capitol. In the wake of the unthinkable shootings at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde late last month, Governor Abbott called on Lt. Governor Patrick and Speaker Phelan to assemble special legislative committees to review, study and make recommendations to address all aspects of the events of that day and reassess the twin issues of school safety and mass violence. Those committees have already started their work and we expect this issue to have a dominate role throughout the remainder of the interim and the 88th Texas Legislature.

With other interim committees forging forward in their work, we were able to address our first legislative priority for next session. Last week, the House Business and Industry Committee held a hearing specifically on Organized Retail Crime (ORC) and its impact on Texas businesses. John McCord and a total of 5 member companies testified during the hearing and all did a tremendous job. We want to thank all of you who participated in the hearing and those who helped coordinate those efforts. The importance of demonstrating operational impact and everyday business experiences is vital to delivering our message and this was a great example of how TRA and its members can come together for that purpose. If you would like to watch the video of the hearing it can be viewed HERE

In agency news, the Railroad Commission recently accepted comments on the proposed rules for a bill TRA helped pass last session. This was a simple, one page bill that streamlined the training and licensure requirements for employees who are authorized to refill small propane tanks. Unfortunately, staff at the RRC took this one-page bill and transformed it into roughly fifteen pages of rules that ultimately made the training and licensure process more convoluted that before the bill passed. TRA submitted written comments on the proposed rules, and we will continue to follow this process in the coming months.

Forum registration is open! Please be sure to register to attend the Texas Retailers Forum on September 26-28. We will be hosting the event at the unique Kalahari Resort & Convention Center. Sponsorship and vendor/exhibitor opportunities are available! The deadline for registering is August 20, 2022! Limited space available.

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Contact Info:

Texas Retailers Association

13706 Research Blvd, Ste 314

512.472.8261

[email protected]