During each legislative session, the IRA is directly involved in or closely monitors almost one-third of the total pieces of legislation that are introduced. The IRA makes sure your ENTIRE business is covered and you are informed of anything that might impact your bottom line or your operating decisions. The IRA in one of the most influential association’s in Idaho and is the only association that works solely on behalf of the retail industry.

A Few Key Issues Currently Working . . .

• Total Repeal of the Personal Property Tax
• Marketplace Fairness / Streamlined Sales Tax
• Transportation Funding Issues
• Road Construction and Business Impact

Some of the many legislative successes include . . .

Legislative Successes that Continue to Save (or Make) Retailers Money Year After Year

(All thanks to the support of IRA’s members whose investments help make the IRA a strong Association protecting and supporting the retail industry in Idaho)

IRA Passed . . .

• Veteran’s Hiring Preference – sponsored a bill to codify the protections of giving preference to the hiring and promoting of veterans.
• MFA Savings Account for Tax Cuts – sponsored a bill to create a savings account to be used for future tax cuts when Mainstreet Fairness/Streamline Sales Tax passes Congress and Idaho.
• Patent Trolls – passed a bill addressing patent trolls (patent infringement) in Idaho.
• Quantity Limits – sponsored a bill to allow stores to limit the quantities sold of an item.
• Minimum Wage – passed a bill that explicitly ties Idaho’s minimum wage, including the tip credit, to the federal minimum wage.
• Tort Reform – passed one of the nation’s most stringent tort reform laws, which has assisted in keeping the cost of lawsuits down and helps control the ever-increasing cost of liability insurance.
• Fee Schedule for Workers Compensation – adopted a more realistic fee schedule for physicians in workers compensation cases, and thus helps control the cost of workers compensation insurance.
• Pharmacy Technician Ratio – increased the ratio from 3:1 to 6:1.
• Temporary Licensing for Pharmacists – provides for a temporary license of reciprocity to be issued to a pharmacist for 16 weeks who is transferring into Idaho – thus allowing them to work immediately rather than waiting for all the paperwork to go through the system.
• Sale of Wine – deleted the requirement that retailers must purchase wine by the case.
• Wine & Beer Tasting in Retail Stores – clarified the law and passed a law so that retailers could have wine & beer tastings in their stores without confusion and without lots of red tape.
• Dessert Wine – allows retailers with a wine license to sell dessert wines if allowed by the county.
• Sunday Sales of Liquor – allows liquor to be sold on Sunday’s if allowed by the county.
• Commonsense Consumption Act – prohibits anyone in the food industry from being sued over an individual’s choice of food and beverage consumption that leads to weight gain or obesity-related health conditions.
• Direct Sellers – sponsored a bill that clarifies that direct sellers are independent contractors.

IRA Stopped . . .

• Food Licensing Fee Increase – negotiated a food licensing fee increase that originally was over 450% down to 131% for three and more licenses and 92% for one or two licenses over a two-year period.
• Sin Tax Increases – stopped multiple bills that would have increased the cigarette, beer & wine taxes.
• Minimum Wage – stopped multiple bills that would have increased the minimum wage to above the federal level, many which also included a CPI inflator.
• Workers Compensation Liability – would have turned Idaho’s current no-fault workers compensation system on its head, increasing workers compensation costs and exposing businesses to more lawsuits.
• Personal Information & Privacy Act – would have added an impossible reporting procedure to businesses that have computerized consumer data if a breach occurs, including increased liability.
• Heavy Truck Fees – would have more than quadrupled the light and heavy truck registration fees.
• Bottle Bill – would have created a beverage container deposit and refund program.
• Underground Storage Tanks – would have put more stringent regulations on owners of USTs than the current rules under the EPA. Also stopped the Department of Environmental Quality from shifting the UST program to the state, and thus, moving the costs of the program onto the UST owners.
• Prescription Drug Program – would have implemented a prescription drug program that ultimately would have reduced the reimbursement and dispensing rates of pharmacies on a large portion of the population.
• Cash-On-Delivery for Tobacco – would have required cash-on-delivery for all cigarette and tobacco products delivered to retailers.
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Warning Signs – would have required at least two FAS warning signs to be posted in every establishment selling alcohol.
• Sales Tax on Services – would have repealed certain sales and use tax exemptions, including certain services – of which most directly impacted the retail industry.