News

ISSA LARU—Register Now for Cleaning Products Workshop 2022

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 the upcoming live and in-person ISSA-HCPA regulatory workshop, congressional passage of a climate and healthcare bill, a potential Senate vote on tech antitrust legislation, and more.

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ISSA Advocacy

Hot Topics: Cleaning Products Workshop 2022
Ensure your continued success in the marketplace by attending the Cleaning Products Workshop, a one-day live and in-person event that will address the latest regulatory and sustainability issues along with other trending topics that impact the manufacturing, packaging, marketing, and sale of household and commercial cleaning products. This one-of-a-kind program, presented by HCPA and ISSA, features the following hot topics that will impact your business for years to come:

• Update on packaging
• News from Green Seal, EPA Safer Choice, and ECOLOGO
• Update on California Proposition 65, Short Form Warnings, and other news
• State and federal regulation of PFAS
• VOC regulatory update on states and Canada
• Microplastics and the cleaning industry

This workshop will be conducted in conjunction with ISSA Show North America 2022 on October 10, starting with breakfast at 8 am; the program runs from 9 am to 5 pm at Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center. ISSA members should use the promo code “ISSA2022” when registering to receive discounted member pricing.

Legislative

Congress Passes Climate, Health Bill
Last week, Congress passed a bill spending billions of dollars on climate and healthcare, while raising taxes on large, profitable corporations, NBC News reported. Under the legislation, consumers will receive subsidies for purchasing certain energy-efficient products and the bill allots US$87 billion to increase the size and enforcement capabilities of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The legislation also includes a new 15% corporate minimum tax and creates a 1% excise tax on companies’ stock buybacks. President Biden is expected to sign the bill into law this week.

Schumer Plans to Hold Vote on Tech Antitrust Bill
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said that he plans to hold a vote on Senators Amy Klobuchar’s (D-MN) and Chuck Grassley’s (R-IA) American Innovation and Choice Online Act, according to Politico. The statement is the strongest indication thus far that Senator Schumer expects to hold a vote on the tech antitrust bill. The legislation would bar large tech companies from prioritizing their products over competitors who rely on those companies to reach customers.

Regulatory

CDC Updates Cleaning Guidelines for Monkeypox
On August 4, the same day that the White House declared monkeypox a national public health emergency, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued significant, updated guidelines regarding the virus for cleaning professionals, Cleaning & Maintenance Management reported.

Preparing for SEC Disclosure Rules on Climate Risk 
As early as this October, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may require corporations to detail their plans for dealing with climate change. In this Bloomberg Law commentary, Sehrish Siddiqui of the law firm Bass, Berry & Sims explains how “corporate leaders can begin to lay the groundwork for these changes by considering these key questions and potential solutions.” Learn more about this SEC proposed rule and its potential impact on the cleaning industry here.

GSA Reports on Procurement through E-Commerce Portals
In July, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) released a report, Procurement Through Commercial E-Commerce Portals, Commercial Online Models: Testing and Analysis, to Congress. This report was mandated by Section 853 of the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, which required GSA to provide additional testing and information regarding commercial online portal models. The report noted that “there is minimal differentiation between commercial online business models in their ability to meet core program capabilities” and each of the business models “meets or exceeds the foundational capability needs of the program.”

FMC Launches Webpage Dedicated to OSRA Implementation
The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission established a webpage dedicated to its actions and activities related to the implementation of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA), which ISSA strongly supported and was signed into law in June. This page provides links to key OSRA documents, including rulemaking, industry advisories, and press releases.

U.S. Rethinks China Tariffs in Wake of Taiwan Response
China’s war games around Taiwan have led Biden administration officials to “recalibrate their thinking” on whether to eliminate some tariffs or potentially impose others on Beijing, setting those options aside for now, according to Reuters.

Few Small Businesses Aided by COVID-19 Tax Relief
Small business owners have been hampered by complicated tax forms and processes that kept them from claiming pandemic-related tax credits and payroll tax deferrals, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, Accounting Today reported. Only up to 7% of small-business owners were able to claim the tax relief, and they fell mainly within specific racial, ethnic, and gender groups. The report found that the tax forms for claiming the paid sick and family leave credits and payroll tax deferrals for employers and the self-employed, as well as the Employee Retention Credit, were too complex. They had difficulty receiving help from both the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and even from tax professionals.

State News

Court Ruling to Raise Minimum Wage, Paid Sick Time Delayed
Michigan employers will have at least six months to prepare for an increase to the state’s minimum wage and stronger paid sick leave requirements following a court ruling, Michigan Business Review reported. Michigan Court of Claims Judge Douglas Shapiro ruled that the legislature’s unprecedented “adopt and amend” strategy to water down ballot initiatives was unconstitutional.