Advocacy

At each of this year’s fall regional trade shows, the American Booksellers Association, with support from the Small Business Majority, will be offering a timely and informative educational session on the Affordable Health Care Act.

The Campaign for Reader Privacy — a joint initiative of ABA, ALA, AAP, and PEN American Center — called on Congress this week to pass legislation to restore privacy protections for bookstore and library records that were stripped by the Patriot Act as a first step toward reining in what the group calls “runaway surveillance programs.”

On Tuesday, July 2, the White House announced  a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act mandate that requires employers with more than 50 employees to provide healthcare coverage or pay a penalty. However, the requirement that all citizens acquire health insurance by January 1, 2014, has not changed.

If the U.S. House passes the Marketplace Fairness Act, it will trigger a lower state income tax bill for residents of Wisconsin and Ohio. The governors of the two states have signed budgets that would reduce income taxes if the House votes in favor of closing the sales tax  loophole on online purchases.

Utah celebrates Independents Week in a big way; Buthod named SIBA One Book at a Time organizer; Amazon’s tax affairs in U.K. deterring shoppers; LibraryReads launches this fall; Senators express concerns over Patriot Act surveillance programs; Authors lose class certification in lawsuit against Google; Hachette acquires Hyperion adult imprint; Ingram integrates Hachette Livre titles

On Monday, June 24, the Obama Administration announced it had kicked off its Health Insurance Marketplace (also known as exchanges) education effort with a new “consumer-focused” HealthCare.gov website, as well as a 24/7 consumer call center designed to assist Americans in preparing for enrollment in the health exchanges.

Given the intensity of opponents’ campaign against The Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013, ABA is urging its members to contact their Congressperson.

School ban on Perks of Being a Wallflower overturned; Where’s Waldo? hits a milestone; U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey appointed to second term

ABA is urging bookstore members to reach out to their U.S. representatives in support of the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 (H.R.684). To make outreach easier, ABA has created a template letter.

With the implementation of additional sections of the Affordable Care Act now less than six months away, it’s a good time for booksellers to start considering their insurance options under the new health care law. Here is a look at some recent developments with helpful links.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression has joined the ACLU, the American Library Association, more than 80 civil liberties, government reform, and digital advocacy groups, and several companies in protesting the National Security Agency’s surveillance of the telephone records and Internet activity of American citizens.

A week after Colorado booksellers challenged a law restricting the display of magazines about marijuana, the State of Colorado agreed not to enforce the law. Lawyers for the state acknowledged that the law, which would have forced retailers to display any magazine that focuses on marijuana or marijuana businesses behind the counter, was unconstitutional.

Following its overwhelming passage by the U.S. Senate, the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 awaits consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives. With no firm timeline yet set by House leadership, ABA is urging its members to write to their representatives in support of the bill, especially if their congressperson is a member of the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Income from the online and live auctions of children’s book art held in conjunction with this year’s BEA increased by 50 percent over the previous year’s auction results. Proceeds from the auctions support ABFFE’s defense of the free speech rights of young readers.

Tattered Cover Book Store, Boulder Book Store, ABFFE, MPIBA, and several newsstands filed suit on Monday to block enforcement of a Colorado law that violates the First Amendment rights of retailers to display magazines that focus on marijuana and of customers to browse those publications.