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 Friday
Facts - Archives -
Month
of April 2004
Current
Week
April
23, 2004
Democratic Leaders preparing for budget battle with Governor and Republicans. CRMA Legislative reception is a big success. News and notes from the State Capitol. CRMA Golf Classic updates. Retail news and notes.
· As we head into the final 10 days of the Legislative session old habits seem hard to break.
· The hardest for the Legislature and the Governor seems to be the adopting of a state budget without some sort of fighting. This week we saw a breakout of hostilities between the Democratic leadership and the Governor.
· First let's give you some background information.
· Last year was the year in which it seemed a budget would never get adopted, yet after months and months of debate one was finally settled on.
· That budget was supposed to last for two years. But in February, the Governor presented to the Legislature a document that would make so-called mid year adjustments to the two-year budget. This has been a common practice since Connecticut changed to a two-year budget cycle, over 10 years ago.
· Included in the Governor’s adjustments, were increases in sin tax to cover an expected budget deficit. Democrats rejected those increases and replaced them with personal income tax increases, including higher tax for millionaires.
· Since the time the Governor presented his budget and the Democratically controlled Finance committee replaced it; the states tax revenue has increased dramatically. So much that the Administration announced this week that the state actually had a $100 million surplus.
· Democrats, happy that there was a surplus, began planning for ways to spend that money, while pondering whether to move forward with their own tax plan that increases taxes on the wealthy.
· They even began to reach out to the Governor to begin negotiations with his office. That was until yesterday when the Governor announced that there was no need for budget adjustments, and that if the Democrat’s adopted one he would veto it.
· Both the House and Senate Republicans support the Governor in this effort.
· The Democrats were predictably upset over his remarks, and vowed to carry on with or without the governor with their efforts to make mid term adjustments.
· Is this posturing on the part of the Governor to ensure that any changes in the budget meet his approval? Quite possibly.
· Remember it is an election year, there is a controversy surrounding the Governor, it is in nobody’s best interest to have a knock down, drag out fight into the summer over the budget.
· Here is a likely scenario: They get something done by the deadline May 5th. The House and Senate Democrats agreed to a budget that includes input from the Governor and everybody goes home on time.
· For retailers, we need to keep our nose in the budget for the continuation of the sales tax free week. Right now it is scheduled to be eliminated.
· The $100 million surplus will help our cause but we need to make a final push over the next couple of days to make sure it happens.
CRMA Legislative Reception a big success
· One way we made our push for the continuation of the sales tax free week was during our annual legislative reception that was held Wednesday of this week.
· It was a great success with well over 50 legislators coming in and out, including the Speaker of the House and the Chairman of the General Law Committee.
· We spoke to all of these legislators about our issues and want to thank them all for stopping by.
· We also could not have done this event without the help of the ICSC. They were our co-host for the event and we thank Mr. Mike Goman of Konover Construction for his leadership with the ICSC in helping make the event happen.
· Also, special thanks to CRMA Legislative Chair Tom Zapf, Macy’s Northeast, for his continued support and tireless efforts in helping our legislative operation work. He is a strong supporter of the legislative reception and we thank him for all his hard work.
Capitol News and Notes:
· With two weeks to go in the session there is lots to talk about. So, here is a quick sampling.
· Our sources tell us that both the minimum wage bill that was reported out of the Appropriations Committee this week and HB 5447 AAC Distribution of Literature to Employees on Employer Premises, will die on the House calendar. We must keep a close eye on both of those issues.
· The Senate continues to take no action on SB.139, “AAC Retail Ownership” which is fine with us. Also, Sen. Colpietro, is in no rush to do SB 399 ‘AAC Introductory Rate Offers and Automatic Renewal of Consumer Contracts”.
· We have a big meeting on Friday with the Speaker of the House and the State Treasure over gift certificates, we will let everyone know how that goes next week.
· One of the bigger issues that the General Assembly faces this year is the issue of medical malpractice. House Democrats have scheduled a caucus for Friday to discuss this issue with a vote scheduled for Monday.
· Finally, although there continues to be a number of outsourcing bills, we keep hearing that the issue will be turned into a study. We will know more about that issue next week
· Next Legislative Committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday April 29th. The Legislative Committee is open to all members, if you would like to participate, please feel free to email us at www.crmaonline.com or by calling or office at 860 – 527 – 1044 and we will give you the call in number.
CRMA Golf outing:
· Registration forms are beginning to come into our office for our 3rd annual Golf Classic. Please send yours in today.
· The event will be held on June 8th at Blackledge Country Club, in Hebron, CT.
· For more information on our golf tournament, please visit our website at www.crmaonline.com
Retail News and Notes
· J.C. Penney planning stand-alone stores
J.C. Penney is planning to expand with stand-alone stores, as opposed to stores in malls. The second-largest shopping store chain plans 14 new store openings in 2004. The Indianapolis Star (4/20)
· McDonald's CEO dies after apparent heart attack
Jim Cantalupo, the man credited with McDonald's recent turnaround, died this morning after an apparent heart attack, the company said. "Jim was a brilliant man who brought tremendous leadership, energy and passion to his job. He made an indelible mark on McDonald's system," Andrew J. McKenna, presiding director of the company's board, said in a statement. CNNmoney (4/19),
· Retailers boost efforts to tween girls
While overall pre-teen spending dropped last year, the tween girl market appears to be doing well, fueled by the Olsen twins and Hillary Duff. Club Libby Lu, a Saks brand, caters to this age group with glitter merchandise and princess products, while Limited Too plans to open 35 of its Justice stores this year. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (4/16)
April 2, 2004
A look at the work of the Finance and Appropriations Committees.
CRMA Legislative Reception set for April 21st.
I- 95 reopens. Member Services Update. Retail News and Notes.
· In last weeks Friday Facts, we told you that the Legislature’s two money committees would be finished with their work and that we would take a closer look at what they did.
Finance committee:
·The major issue that the Finance Committee dealt with this year was the substitution of the governor’s revenue proposals with a millionaire’s tax.
·Back in February, the Governor included in his proposed budget a number of increases in so called sin taxes to help balance the budget.
·The Finance Committee removed those proposals from consideration when it passed SB 592, “An Act Concerning a Revision of the Income Tax Structure”.
·SB 592, simply put is higher income rates for millionaire’s
·The millionaire’s tax will be hotly debated and is likely to face a veto from the governor. For the Finance Committee, the adoption of the millionaire’s tax made it easier to not pass any of the sin taxes
· For retailers, no sin tax meant no increase in Other Tobacco Products tax, which would have hurt our members who sell cigars.
·In addition to taxes, the Finance Committee did pass other bills that we will keep a close eye on. Among those are HB 5660, and SB 421.
·HB 5660, “An Act Concerning the Exporting of Jobs”, was the pet bill of the Committee co chair Rep. Andrea Stillman (D-Waterford). The committee did delete language that deals with “telemarketing” but it still may be problematic for retailers and we will continue to work with our coalition in opposing it.
· SB 421, “An Act Concerning Administration of Various State Taxes, was introduced by the Department of Revenue Services.
·We were successful in softening the bill by working with other business groups in getting an amendment passed that deleted sec 3 of the bill.
·For those of you that have not had a chance to read this bill, we would strongly encourage you to do so. We had a number of corporate tax issues that the DRS tried to adopt last session and we are very leery of what is behind this bill.
·SB 421 will be looked at in great detail again and we are sure that the DRS will be working to get what they want back into the bill.
·We will also worked hard to convince the Finance Committee to take no action on HB 5375, An Act Concerning Recycling Of Electronic Devises.
·We had to overcome strong support for this bill by the House Chair of the Environment committee who, up until Monday the final day of the Finance Committee’s work, was still trying to get the bill reported out.
·We did prevail however, thanks to the help of the House Chair of the Finance Committee Rep Stillman who will keep the bill from being called.
· Although the Finance Committee is done with its work in committee, the issues that the Finance Committee dealt with are far from over.
·Our sources tell us that there could still be a major fight between the Democrats and the Governor’s office over the inclusion of the millionaire’s tax. If that is what takes place, then all bets are off, and we could see the sin taxes back front and center.
Appropriations committee:
·Action in Appropriations on adjustments to the governors budget do not appear to be as potentially divisive as the Finance Committee
·As we reported last week, the appropriations committee did some “tweaking” of the budget. Although there was some give and take on the spending side of the budget, the potential political fight will center on taxes.
·There was not much more to add to what we wrote about in last week’s Friday Facts on the spending side of the budget. We would only add that in recent memory no budget has passed without some blowup between the governor’s office and the legislature and we don’t think this year will be any different
CRMA Legislative Reception set for April 21, 2004
·With the committee work now behind us, we get set to gear up for the next round in the legislative process, consideration of bills by the whole general assembly. With that in mind, it is a good time to remind you of our annual legislative reception.
·Our legislative reception is held annually at the State Capitol and this year it will be held on April 21, 2004 from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. in Room 310 of the State Capitol.
·This is a very important event for our legislative efforts and is a great opportunity for members to meet legislators in a casual setting.
·The event is free and we encourage all of our members to come to the capital on the 21st. If you are interested in attending please contact us via email through our website www.crmaonline.com or call our office at 860-527-1044.
I-95 reopens
·Last week we told you about the closure of I-95 and the potential impact that would have on CT’s economy. We have good news to report.
·This week, I-95 reopened in both directions. Thanks largely to the extraordinary efforts of federal, state and local officials.
·Over the weekend the DOT reopened northbound traffic after making sure that no structural damage was done.
·Then on Wednesday of this week a three lane temporary bridge was put in place so that the southbound lane could be reopened for all traffic. Southbound was the sight of the accident that caused the shutdown late last week.
Member Services Update:
· Attention bank card members: Master card and Visa rates will be going up.
·We received word last week from Global Payments, our endorsed credit card processor, that both Visa and MasterCard have announced interchange increases in certain segments of interchange fees effective April 1, 2004.
·Because of this, rates will increase 12 basis points and MOTO will increase 9 basis points.
·Please call us today if you have any questions about this rate increase. Also, please remember that MasterCard and Visa solely establish interchange rates.
·The CRMA/One Beacon Property Casualty program is open to all members. Call us today for a free quote, 860-527-1044.
·Have you sent in your golf registration yet? If not, do so today. The golf tournament will be here before you know it and you will not want to miss this year’s event.
·You can register online at www.crmaonline.com.
Retail News and Notes
·New book relates mall facts
Paco Underhill, who has sometimes been called a "retail anthropologist," explores what makes malls work -- and what doesn't. In his new book, "Call of the Mall," Underhill examines mall arcana such as why the restrooms are often located out of the way and the cuisines of food courts. Knowledge@Wharton (free registration) (3/26)
·Three Mexican chains band together in fight against Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart's entry into the Mexican market wasn't an overnight success, but today the retailer boasts more than 600 stores and 100,000 employees there. Now three Mexican retail chains want to combine their purchasing power to fight Wal-Mart's growing dominance, but so far government officials are blocking the move as anti-competitive. A final decision is expected in June. The Dallas Morning News (free registration) (3/31)
·Ground zero site a tender juxtaposition of retail and respect
The construction of retail and office space, transportation services and dining locations, as well as memorials to remember those who died on Sept. 11, 2001, can't come fast enough for some. Many want low-rise retail locations to be erected at first, but the executive director of the Port Authority says he is against a mall-type format. The New York Times (free registration)
Shopping Magazine Aimed At Men
Is the Y chromosome evolving? Are guys really starting to care more about things such as where to bargain-hunt for clothes, and what's the best skin cream?
Industry experts and advertisers are closely watching a new shopping magazine to see whether men actually want more help than a wife or girlfriend, if they have one, can provide. (April 2, 2004 By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, Associated Press, http://www.ctnow.com/business/hc-malevanity0402.artapr02,1,6268679.story?coll=hc-headlines-business)
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