September is the time of year when California Moving and Storage Association (CMSA) chapters generally start meeting again. It is also the time for an annual visit to Washington, D.C. Each year since I became CMSA president in 2006, I have participated in lobbying events for our national moving association, for many years, the American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA) and, more recently, the American Trucking Association Moving and Storage Conference (ATA MSC).

This year, our efforts focused on four areas.

1. Combatting Moving Fraud & Engagement with Enforcement.
2. Protecting the Independent Contractor Model.
3. Military Moving: GAO Study Follow-Up
4. Moving Expense Tax Deduction.

If you are a regular reader of the Communicator, you know that these issues, with the exception of the moving tax deduction, are the focus of CMSA’s regular advocacy efforts.

Group 1 of the ATA MSC hill visits comprised MSC members who are also CMSA members, including James Lovejoy and Tim Wicker of Republic Moving & Storage, Sofia Marr of CMS Relocation & Logistics, Jeremy Day of Ace Relocation Systems, Paul Lebidine of M. Dyer Global, Adam Witfield, a professional van operator, and myself. We were an extremely strong group that ensured that our congressional and senators' offices understood our issues and why they were important not only to our industry but to their constituents at large.

To be honest, ATA leadership and lobbying group do not hold California in very high regard. Anything that they see as negative in our industry starts in the Golden State. But Group 1 was not afraid. Like Smoke Jumpers, we jump right into the hottest spots and have a strategy to address objections and dismissals. The heat is where the action is, and we would rather meet with those who have real power and can potentially win over to our side.

Ignore California at your own peril. We are not only the fifth-largest economy in the world but also represent the largest congressional delegation in the country. California has 53 Congressmembers and 2 Senators, and each state gets 2 Senators regardless of population and one member of Congress for approximately 700,000 people in the state. To put it in perspective, there are seven states with only one member of Congress: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming. To put this in further perspective, each California state senator, of which there are 40, represents approximately 988,086 Californians. This makes California’s state senators some of the most representative in terms of population size in the United States.

CMSA has its own legislative day in Sacramento, usually in March, where it meets with its lobbyists, state agencies, and elected officials. In a challenging political environment, CMSA has found success or some relief on a number of important issues. If you haven’t joined us in the past, make plans for an upcoming event.

October 2024 - CMSA Communicator