Connecticut Anti-Affiliate Legislation SB806 Up for Vote in Senate

As efforts to slow down the barrage of poorly conceived anti-affiliate legislation modeled after New York’s so-called Amazon Tax seemed to get some traction in California with the delay of AB 178, other states have fast tracked their bills. Most recently Connecticut bill SB806 has moved out of committee and is up for a vote in both houses. The Connecticut Senate could vote on the bill as early as Tuesday, April 14th.

SB 806 is especially troubling because it drops the threshold for nexus to $2,000, the lowest threshold for nexus of any bill to date. Its passage through the Joint Finance Committee was swift with no opposing votes. It will take considerable effort to slow down.

A number of companies and lobbyist groups are working together to fight this bill, including the Performance Marketing Alliance and the newly formed Affiliate Voice, all agree the best chance to beat the bill is for all of the hundreds of performance marketers in Connecticut to reach out to their legislators.

“Legislators respond to simple and straightforward messages,” stated Rebecca Madigan, Founder, PMA. “We have learned, in other states, that legislators care most about the impact on small businesses in their districts and their states.”

Below are steps on how you can reach out to your legislator (thanks to the PMA for providing them):

Find your local representative

Here is a list of Connecticut representatives. Click on the District Number under the Senate or Representative columns to be taken to the contact page for your Legislator. If you do not know your district number, you can find your district by entering your address on this search page.

Call your Senate and House representatives

Since the bill is up for a vote in the Senate first, make sure to make that call the priority. You’ll probably just leave a message or talk to a staffer. It is a very brief conversation. Here’s what you say:

My name is [ ], and I am a small business owner in your district. SB 806  will jeopardize my business. There are hundreds of small businesses just like mine in Connecticut, which will be devastated if this bill passes. We are affiliate marketers and we advertise on the internet. SB 806 assumes we sell on behalf of out-of-state retailers, but that is not true. I urge you to oppose SB 806.

Send a letter, email or fax to your house and senate representatives.

These are 2 quick messages. It is important to stick to some very simple points, which will have the most impact to these representatives.  Form letters aren’t as effective as sending something personal. Fax is probably the best and fastest approach.

Here are key points to include in your message:

1. Who you are, where you live, and any ties you have to the community.

2. Include this information, or a variation:
I am an affiliate marketer and I earn a living through Internet advertising. I do not sell merchant products, I do not even know who their customers are. My business earns revenue through advertising for out-of-state merchants. XX% of my revenue comes from out-of-state merchants (it is important to add an approximate percentage, so legislators can see the impact). I know out-of-state advertisers will stop working with me, because that is what happened to affiliates in New York.

3. Emphatically state:
I am against SB 806. As my representative I need you to vote to oppose SB806.  Can I count on you to be against this terrible legislation?

4. Ask your legislator to contact you and provide an update on SB 806. Be sure to include your telephone and email.

Remember that it is crucial to take these steps by the morning of Tuesday, April 14th which is fast approaching.