Too much in this newsletter for just one title
It is better than "new draft"
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The Rundown
The owner of an online-small business writes an op-ed in opposition to a bill being dubbed by some as “Walmart v. Amazon”
John McGuire talks about his state Senate run and his Republican opponent in the new, deep-red district. His opponent responded
Virginia Expects to Receive Approximately $530 Million to Fight the Opioid Crisis
Rep. Donald McEachin responds to President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee
Hampton Roads leaders call on the US Senate to invest in the climate for multiple reasons
The Executive Branch is quite wealthy now
OP-ED: Virginia Bill Kills Small Businesses, Not Retail Crime
By Nikhil Bhat, the owner of IconiKitchen, a Vienna-based small business that sells countertop kitchen products online.
The national wave of smash and grab retail robberies has certainly been a shock to watch play out over national media headlines this past year. Even Virginia’s local news seems plastered with a flurry of retail crime. But is this temporary news cycle really enough to warrant such an aggressive attack from local lawmakers on honest small Virginia businesses?
According to a recent Virginia state police report, the number of burglaries in our commonwealth is actually on the decline. The majority of them are happening in homes and residences - not in brick-and-mortar retail stores. So why have Virginia legislators recently become so keen on passing SB 341? Many claim that it’s been drafted in the name of combatting the sale of goods stolen off store shelves, but the bill’s text does more to stifle Virginia’s virtual Main Street than it does to stop organized retail crime.
Despite changes recently made to the bill, Virginia SB 341 could still create more red tape for aspiring entrepreneurs. If this legislation is enacted, depending on where they sell their products, some small businesses online defined as a “high volume seller” (making as few as 200 sales or as little as $5,000 in gross revenue) will be subject to additional red tape and regulation when they sell on virtual marketplaces. They would have to submit sensitive information to online platforms and will be asked to verify that information annually.
At first blush, mandating business owners re-enter their information once a year might not sound like too much of an ask. However, it’s the consequences of failing to comply - even by accident - that online sellers like myself find most worrisome. If a seller simply forgets to respond, or a tech snafu prevents the email from reaching business owners’ inboxes, they could risk being booted off the marketplace altogether; losing valuable revenue, customers, and, in some cases, their livelihood.
Moreover, depending which online marketplace they sell on, some small businesses might be required to display physical addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers next to product listings; potentially fostering a ripe environment for identity theft, stalking, and harassment. As previously mentioned, in-store theft might not be on the rise but home break-ins certainly are. Posting the personal addresses of online sellers could unintentionally make them and their families sitting ducks for bad actors.
Unfortunately, other states are eyeing similar, but not identical, bills. Passing bills like SB 341 around the country means Virginia’s small business community will encounter a burdensome and largely unworkable patchwork of online selling regulations state-by-state that could effectively shutter their virtual doors. Small businesses don’t have the same well-staffed legal and compliance departments that big companies do, so they’ll find this regulatory thicket especially challenging.
So, if Virginia small businesses lose out here, who stands to benefit? It’s simple: Big Retail. This is a transparent attempt by big-box retailers and their lobbyists to slow down online competitors state by state as brick and mortar retail sales continue to steeply decline. Mega-stores like Walmart shouldn’t be allowed to write laws that suppress competition from Main Street entrepreneurs who are expanding their reach to customers and markets all around the world via the Internet.
A bill propping up Big Retail isn’t worth risking the vitality of more than 750,000 small businesses employing more than 1.5 million Virginians. We shop with these small businesses on a day-to-day basis. Small business owners selling on online marketplaces are college students, moms, grandparents, neighbors, and friends. They’re people in our community, not the crooks that SB 341 pre-judges them to be when they sign up to pursue their dream, or just make a little extra cash, on online marketplaces.
Let’s be clear, Virginia isn’t wrong to address organized retail theft. But policy proposals need to ensure in-store crime is being addressed at its source. As it’s written now, SB 341 punishes honest online businesses while ignoring the root of the issue. If this law had been in place when our online business was started, we might never have gotten it off the ground. In SB 341’s wrongheaded attempt at curbing in-store theft, it’s the livelihoods of Virginia’s online sellers that stand to get stolen.
McGuire talks Senate race and Ukraine in radio interview
Del. John McGuire discussed his state Senate campaign in more depth during an interview with conservative talk show host John Fredericks Thursday. During the interview, he discussed his candidacy compared to the other declared Republican in the race. McGuire’s opponent also commented on his candidacy.