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Maryland-DC State Council Leaders Testify At Hearing On Micromarket Bill Before Maryland Legislature

CHICAGO -- Leaders from the Maryland/DC Vending Association testified before the Maryland Legislature's House Economic Matters Committee on Feb. 20 in support of H.B. 1087, the Micromarket Licensure Bill. The bill would establish a uniform definition and licensing requirements for micromarket operators across the state. Delegate C.T. Wilson, the bill's sponsor, provided a brief overview of the legislation, and then introduced Steve Boucher, MD/DC Vending Association president and regional director for Co...

February 22, 2018

CHICAGO -- Leaders from the Maryland/DC Vending Association testified before the Maryland Legislature's House Economic Matters Committee on Feb. 20 in support of H.B. 1087, the Micromarket Licensure Bill. The bill would establish a uniform definition and licensing requirements for micromarket operators across the state.

Delegate C.T. Wilson, the bill's sponsor, provided a brief overview of the legislation, and then introduced Steve Boucher, MD/DC Vending Association president and regional director for Compass Group North America, and Craig Kushner, president of Monumental Markets (Beltsville, MD), both of whom offered individual testimony.

Boucher provided a detailed explanation about the micromarket concept and the importance of having them defined and licensed at the state level, while Kushner discussed how the vending channel expanded into the development of micromarkets in response to changes in technology and consumer demand for increased variety of food/beverage products.

Both Boucher and Kushner also spoke of how this legislation is a proactive measure to ensure that Maryland operators can continue to expand their business endeavors in the micromarket space.

"Like many industries, ours is rapidly changing and we are being asked to replace vending machines with more innovative offerings via micromarkets. Accordingly, our members have run into challenges because these new offerings are currently undefined by Maryland law," Boucher said. "We testified today to ask for changes that will help our industry to continue to provide value to our customers by defining micro markets and how they are licensed."  

"I appreciated the opportunity to testify before the Economic Matters Committee on this issue because it was a chance to explain the direct benefit of the legislation from an operator's perspective," Kushner said. "I understand challenges that operators could face with installing new micro markets because of the lack of familiarity with the concept. Thus, for the growth of this concept to continue it is essential that the State clearly define what a micro market is. To that end, I again thank Del. Wilson for his leadership on this issue and for supporting our bill."

Click here and begin viewing at 50-minute point to view footage of Boucher and Kushner's testimony during the Economic Matters hearing.

The Senate version of the micromarket bill is scheduled for discussion during an upcoming committee on Mar. 8, and MD/DC Vending Association leadership will be present to offer testimony.

INDUSTRY ADVOCATES: Craig Kushner of Monumental Markets (l.) and Steve Boucher of Compass Group North America testified before the Maryland legislature's House Economic Matters Committee in support of H.B. 1087, the "Micromarket Licensure Bill."