4 Regulatory Trends From California That Could Go National

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – As Californians consider major Election Day initiatives that will affect smoking and vaping residents, convenience-store retailers across the country consider the weight trends from the Golden State have had on the rest of the country.

The Nov. 8 ballot has California voters deciding on a $2-per-pack increase on cigarettes (with comparable tax increases on OTP and e-cigarettes), as well as the question of legalizing recreational marijuana use.

In terms of these issues, California is an important battleground because policies approved there tend to be adopted by other municipalities, according to a Bloomberg report. The state’s 39 million people—compared to 26 million in Texas and just under 20 million in New York—bring weight to any tobacco-tax decision, possibly deterring anti-tobacco advocates in more conservative states from pursuing similar changes if the California measure fails, the New York-based news agency said.

Here are big California trends that will continue to influence c-stores …

California was the first state to ban smoking in most public workplaces back in 1995 and most restaurants in 1998. In 1996, it became the first state to legalize medical marijuana, and voters will decide on sales of recreational marijuana in this November’s election.

In 2002, California law mandated automakers reduce passenger-car emissions after 2009. Such measures and others tied to environmental issues made California one of the strictest states in the country regarding air quality and pollution control.

Most recently, Gov. Jerry Brown signed an even tougher greenhouse-gas emissions law, requiring emissions to fall 40% below 1990 levels by 2030, which surpasses levels reset in 2006.

Minimum wage and healthcare may be additional areas where the nation watches California. Washington, D.C., has the highest minimum-wage level at $10.50 an hour. California is tied for second with Massachusetts at $10 an hour.

Earlier this spring, California opted to raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022, following similar moves by New York and Washington, D.C. Most recently, California’s Gov. Brown signed into law a rule that would cut the threshold for overtime pay for farm workers from 60 hours to what most Californians start with at 40 hours.

California lawmakers are also considering extending Obamacare benefits to undocumented immigrants.

California voters this November will be able to uphold or overturn a contested ban on single-use plastic shopping bags. If upheld, the ban would affect grocery and drug stores this year and c-stores next year.