Welcome to the latest ISSA Legislative & Regulatory Update, a biweekly roundup of the public-policy issues currently impacting the full cleaning supply chain. This update touches on helping ISSA secure a Cleaning Week proclamation for your state, ISSA’s February 5 webinar on how to leverage International Cleaning Week, early access registration ending for the 2025 ISSA Clean Advocacy Summit, and more.

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Happy new year from your ISSA Advocacy Team!

ISSA Advocacy

The Governor of Ohio recognizes Cleaning Week in this special thank-you to the industry: View

Help ISSA Secure a Cleaning Week Proclamation from Your State
What it means: March 23-29 is International Cleaning Week–a time when the entire cleaning and facility-solutions industry celebrates the value of clean.
Why it matters: Help ISSA raise awareness about our industry and change the way the world views cleaning by submitting a proclamation request to designate an official week of cleaning for your state!
What ISSA is doing: Nearly every state has an online form that a resident of that state can use to submit a proclamation request free of charge. ISSA has already prepared a template proclamation, but we need your help submitting the proclamation requests by February 14. Help us reach our goal of designating a Cleaning Week in all 50 states. If you’re interested in helping ISSA with this campaign and/or have questions regarding International Cleaning Week, please contact ISSA Senior Government Affairs Manager Stacy Seiden. Learn more

Webinar: How to Leverage International Cleaning Week 2025
Why attend: Get a jump start on planning for this week-long celebration of our industry, March 23-29, and learn about exciting new additions to International Cleaning Week 2025 by joining us for this free ISSA webinar on February 5. Thank you to Tork, an Essity Brand for serving as a supporting sponsor of this webinar and International Cleaning Week 2025!  Learn more and register

2025 Summit Registrants: Let your network know you’re attending the summit and help spread the word about the premier advocacy event for cleaning-industry leaders—download this social media kit!

Time Is Running out: Take Advantage of Early Access Registration for the 2025 ISSA Clean Advocacy Summit
Early access registration is available now through January 15 for the largest Capitol Hill fly-in event for the cleaning and facility-solutions industry, the 2025 ISSA Clean Advocacy Summit, March 31-April 1 in Washington, DC!
Five reasons why you need to register now:

1. Receive policy briefings on the major public-policy issues facing your business and industry, such as labor shortages, supply-chain challenges, healthy-workplace incentives, ending period poverty, and more
2. “Hike the Hill” to meet with your congressional delegation and inform them about how the cleaning and facility-solutions industry strengthens America’s health and economy
3. Hear from special guest speakers and Washington insiders about the new administration and Congress
4. Network with industry leaders from across the country
5. Early access registration ends January 15

Thank you to Tork, an Essity Brand for serving as the Presenting Sponsor, BradyPlus as the Platinum Sponsor, Imperial Dade and Route as Gold Sponsors, and Maid Brigade, Products Chemical, Spartan Chemical, and You’ve Got Maids of Northern Virginia as Silver Sponsors of the 2025 summit.

Registration is limited for this premier advocacy event for our industry, so reserve your seat today!

Additional Updates

Legislative

2025 National Defense Authorization Prioritizes Safer Choice
President Biden signed into law the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which includes a provision directing the U.S. Department of Defense to purchase cleaning products that have been certified by the Safer Choice program. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Safer Choice program certifies that products are free of certain hazardous chemicals such as PFAS and instead use safer chemical ingredients.

Section 856 of the bill says, “The Secretary of Defense shall procure, to the maximum extent practicable, only those cleaning products that are identified—(1) under the Safer Choice program; or (2) by an independent third-party organization that provides certifications in a manner consistent with the Safer Choice program.” Learn more

Judicial & Regulatory

Court Reinstates CTA Injunction, Blocks Year-End Filing Deadline
While the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals considers the constitutionality of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), the court recently reinstated the nationwide injunction of the CTA, The National Law Review reports. Accordingly, businesses did not need to file beneficial ownership forms with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network by the end of 2024.

While it is expected that the government will petition the U.S. Supreme Court to override the ruling, this latest news is a win for small businesses. Regardless, litigation over the CTA is anticipated to continue into 2025. Learn more

ILA-USMX to Resume Contract Negotiations for East/Gulf Coast Ports
According to The Maritime Executive, talks are set to resume between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the terminal operators at U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast ports represented by the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX). This comes after weeks of an impasse between the union and employers, which reportedly centers around the use of semi-automated equipment in the ports. President-Elect Trump met with union leaders and issued a statement in support of the ILA and its fight against automation. Learn more

EPA Updates Guide to Help Translate Pesticide Safety Labels
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced updates to the Spanish Translation Guide for Pesticide Labeling, a resource for the translation of the required human health and safety sections on pesticide labeling from English to Spanish. The Spanish translations “ensure that workers have access to important information to protect themselves and others from pesticide exposure, protect the environment, and get appropriate help if exposed to a pesticide product.” Learn more

EPA Proposes Plan for Tracking Adoption of Bilingual Pesticide Labels
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released for comment a proposed plan to track the adoption of bilingual labeling of pesticide products. The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2022 (PRIA 5) amended the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to require Spanish-language translation of the health and safety sections of end-use pesticide product labels on a rolling schedule beginning in 2025. PRIA 5 also requires that EPA develop, implement, and make publicly available, a plan for tracking the adoption of the bilingual labeling by December 29, 2024. Learn more