Legislative, Regulatory & Legal

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings announced that Sears Canada has filed a Registration Statement on Form 20-F with the U.S. SEC in connection with the company’s previously announced plan to spin-off a portion of its interest in Sears Canada.

New York -- Amazon.com Inc. will begin collecting 7% sales tax from New Jersey residents starting in July 2013. The online giant announced the agreenment on Wednesday at the Statehouse in Trenton, N.J.  It also announced it will build two distribution centers in New Jersey.

Each warehouse will measure about one million square feet. The centers will create a projected 1,500 full-time jobs and would enable the state of New Jersey to collect an estimated $30 to $40 million in tax revenue.

Washington, D.C. -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) issued the following statement in response to the announcement that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has reached an agreement with Amazon.com requiring the online retailer to begin collecting state sales tax on purchases made in New Jersey by July 1, 2013.

"Today's announcement ends the practice of giving out-of-state retailers like Amazon.com an unfair advantage over those retailers who are an integral part of communities across New Jersey," said RILA president Sandy Kennedy

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council voted 13-1 to ban plastic bags at supermarket checkouts, becoming the largest city in the nation to approve such a law.

The council voted to phase out plastic bags during the next 16 months at an estimated 7,500 stores, meaning shoppers will need to bring reusable bags or purchase paper bags for 10 cents each.

New York -- The Los Angeles City Council voted 13-1 to ban plastic bags at supermarket checkouts, becoming the largest city in the nation to approve such a law.

The council voted to phase out plastic bags during the next 16 months at an estimated 7,500 stores, meaning shoppers will need to bring reusable bags or purchase paper bags for 10 cents each.

First it was the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) , now another California pension group (CalPERS) is looking to influence the Wal-Mart Stores board by withholding votes for nine members, according to Reuters. Read more.

The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) intends to use its 5.3 million shares to block the reelection of the entire board of directors of Wal-Mart Stores. You may recall this is the same group that filed suit against Walmart and its executives over their alleged actions in Mexico.

New York -- The Justice Department and The Home Depot have reached a settlement in a case where the government accused the retailer of unlawfully terminating an employee who was a member of the Army National Guard.

By Jon Cano, [email protected]

New York -- A 2010 law that gave the state of New Jersey the authority to claim the value of unused gift cards as revenue has been repealed by the state’s Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, according to the Newark Star-Ledger.