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NAMA State Council Officers Meet Offers Overview Of Local Advocacy

LAS VEGAS -- Leaders of the National Automatic Merchandising Association's affiliated state councils met during the 2018 NAMA Show here to review the past year. Pam Gilbert The breakfast led off with a summary of the national legislative and regulatory situation by NAMA government affairs experts. Pam Gilbert, the association's director, member communities, introduced director of state and federal affairs Jason Eberstein, who brought participants up to date on the industry's key national issues. Jason Eb...

August 12, 2018

LAS VEGAS -- Leaders of the National Automatic Merchandising Association's affiliated state councils met during the 2018 NAMA Show here to review the past year.

Pam Gilbert

The breakfast led off with a summary of the national legislative and regulatory situation by NAMA government affairs experts. Pam Gilbert, the association's director, member communities, introduced director of state and federal affairs Jason Eberstein, who brought participants up to date on the industry's key national issues.

Jason Eberstein

Concerning the machine-level calorie-content disclosure mandated by the Affordable Healthcare Act of 2010, Eberstein explained that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has indicated that it is moving toward a final rule that will incorporate the industry's recommendations for the size of the font used for front-of-package calorie information and the format of the label for multi-serving packages. He added that, with new nutritional facts labeling requirements in place and slated to take effect in 2020, there is hope that FDA will time the publication of its final calorie label rule to enable product suppliers to redesign their packaging just once.

NAMA also is opposing proposals to open up the rest areas on federal highways to commercial development. Doing that would have a severe impact on blind vendors presently serving these rest stops under provisions of the Randolph-Shepard Act. Legislation has also been introduced in Congress to make this change.

NAMA has been working with blind vending operators and a coalition of industries, including truck stop operators, to counter these efforts; a meeting was held with leadership at the Department of Transportation, and a letter was sent to the Secretary of Transportation outlining the detrimental effect of commercialization on vending operators across the country. The association recently met with the leadership of the DOT to discuss this negative impact, and will continue to engage with Congress and the administration.

A third subject high on NAMA's list of regulatory priorities is the Environmental Protection Agency's rule requiring the phaseout of existing refrigerant gases and their replacement with a flammable refrigerant that would create problems for operators with refrigerated machines, under standards developed by UL and building codes based on them, as well as imposing a burden on equipment manufacturers. The changeover is required under the EPA's "Significant New Alternatives Policy" (or SNAP), an Obama administration initiative intended to mitigate global warming. NAMA is working to extend the time allowed for the transition.

"We're not at the finish line yet," Eberstein said, "but we think we can get an extension."

Sandy Larson

Eberstein introduced NAMA senior director and counsel, government affairs Sandy Larson and regional legislative director Sheree Edwards to brief the audience on recent developments at the state and local levels. Edwards led off by observing that the industry's recent success in securing repeal of the sugared-beverage tax in Cook County (Chicago), IL can't be regarded as final. The proponents of such taxes haven't given up, she warned; "We're expecting a proposal at the state level. And Alabama may try it, too."

Sheree Edwards

Edwards also called attention to NAMA's ongoing effort to obtain clearcut rules and definitions for micromarkets, so states and municipalities will have clearcut practical guidelines to use in dealing with them. "We want to get in front of lawmakers and regulators, so they understand what a micromarket is and can make realistic rules for it," she explained.

Larson, who has worked effectively with local governments on drafting real-world guidelines for micromarkets, pointed out that another area of concern to operators is the imposition of rules governing what can and cannot be sold through micromarkets on state property. "We're working on that," she said. On a positive note, Larson continued, some states have undertaken to enact laws curtailing the authority of local governments to enact beverage taxes.

The meeting culminated in brief reports by the leaders of the participating associations, summarizing their achievements to date and their plans for the future.