The International Franchise Association's (IFA) fourth annual California "Franchising Day" is set for March 8, 2016. The goal of Franchising Day is to inform California legislators about some of the key issues affecting the franchise industry. This year, the IFA's Franchising Day will "feature meetings with legislators and staff, allowing members of the franchise community to meet directly with lawmakers to discuss the benefits of franchising in California, as well as the legislative issues facing their businesses."
There are currently two key franchising bills in California. One, California Assembly Bill 1782, seeks to create a new exemption to the California Franchise Investment Law relating to franchise trade shows in the state. If enacted, this new law would permit franchisors and prospective franchisors to exhibit at franchise trade shows in California without having to first apply for a full franchise registration with the Department of Business Oversight.
The second pending bill is Assembly Bill 2637, which is designed to improve the state's law on negotiated franchise sales. As described in my previous posts here and here, the law — intended to help California franchisees to give them an advantage during negotiations with their franchisors — actually hurts franchisees in the state because many franchisors would rather refuse to negotiate completely than comply with the law, which franchisors view as burdensome. AB 2637 seeks to improve this situation by permitted franchisors and franchisees to freely negotiate with one another for so long as the franchisor meets certain simple disclosure and recordkeeping requirements.
Forward Franchising will be following these new bills and developments, and will keep you posted on them here.
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