Advocacy

On Tuesday, July 24, the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee will hold a full committee hearing on the Marketplace Equity Act (H.R. 3179). Booksellers are urged to contact their representatives to voice support for the e-fairness bill.

With a House hearing on the Marketplace Equity Act less than two weeks away, booksellers are urged to contact their representatives to ask for their support of the sales tax fairness bill.

On behalf of the ABA Board, association CEO Oren Teicher thanks the hundreds of booksellers who wrote to the Department of Justice during the public comment period regarding the proposed consent decree in the e-book pricing suit — and calls on DOJ to publish the comments well ahead of the court-ordered deadline. 

As the July 1 deadline for Amazon to begin collecting sales tax in Texas approached, a number of newspapers across the country published editorials declaring that the time had come for sales tax fairness.

The reaction of the business community to the Supreme Court’s June 28 ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act was a mixed bag of pro and con.

In a ruling that surprised many experts, the Supreme Court has upheld the Affordable Care Act. The Small Business Majority hailed the decision, stating that it is a victory for small business owners “who have struggled with the excessively high cost of health insurance for decades.”

As the deadline arrived for public comments, indie bookstores, the Authors Guild, a group of nine independent publishers, and consumers and book buyers were among a final surge of concerned parties submitting letters to the Department of Justice to oppose the proposed e-book pricing settlement with Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster and to express support for the agency model.

The Supreme Court today held that the Stolen Valor Act, a federal law that makes it a crime to lie about having received military honors, violates the free speech protections of the First Amendment.

On Sunday, July 1, under the parameters of a deal struck with the Texas comptroller’s office, Amazon.com will begin collecting and remitting sales tax to Texas for purchases made by state residents from Amazon and its many subsidiaries.

The June 6 Children’s Art Auction and Reception at BEA, which was attended by more than 300 booksellers, publishers, and artists, raised nearly $30,000 to defend the free speech rights of young readers.

This week, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) urged his state’s U.S. senators to support the Marketplace Fairness Act, federal legislation that would allow states to require remote retailers to collect and remit sales tax in the state.

On May 30, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced that that the state had come to an agreement with Amazon.com that will have the retailer begin collecting and remitting state sales tax in exchange for opening two new warehouses in New Jersey.

ABA is encouraging its members to reach out to their state governors and federal lawmakers in support of sales tax fairness legislation currently under consideration in the U.S. House and Senate.

One of the highlights of the Children’s Art Auction and Reception on the evening of June 6 at BEA will be the live auction of five double-spread pages from the dummy photographed for Rosemary Wells’ forthcoming Max & Ruby’s Treasure Hunt.

In a ruling last week in Utah, U.S. District Judge Dee Benson held that people cannot be prosecuted for posting constitutionally protected content for adults on generally accessible websites and are not required by law to label such content that they do post.