In The News

While the self-checkout line at the local grocery or retail store is just a routine process for many, it’s become a focal point for California’s state lawmakers.

A bill moving through the Legislature this year — Senate Bill 1446 by Democratic Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas — would require higher staffing levels for self-checkout stations with the goal of protecting jobs and reducing retail theft.




BBA partners with U.S. Bank and KJLH to present the popular expo featuring State Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas.




More cashiers would watch self-checkout stations under a bill making its way through the California Legislature, but some business groups say the cost of the increased surveillance is too high.

The Retail Theft Prevention and Safe Staffing Act, also known as SB 1446, is designed to decrease retail theft by increasing the number of workers in self-checkout areas, said Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, D-Los Angeles, the bill’s author. She also said the improved monitoring will make stores safer. The Senate passed the bill in May and it’s being considered by the Assembly.




On Aug. 15, the Assembly Appropriations Committee voted 11-3 to pass a bill Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles) authored requiring state-funded contractors hired for large-scale infrastructure projects prioritize hiring “disadvantaged workers.” Senate Bill (SB) 1340 now moves to the Assembly floor for a full vote.




A proposed California law would ban self-checkout counters at grocery stores if specific employee standards are unmet. State Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas of South Central Los Angeles says she wrote the bill to protect the jobs of grocery workers.




For more than a year, California businesses’ concerns about retail theft have taken top billing in the Capitol, spurring more than a dozen new laws. But the grocery and drug store workers who deal with thefts and other crimes every day have their own ideas about how to address those threats.




On Aug. 15, the Assembly Appropriations Committee voted 11-3 to pass a bill Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles) authored requiring state-funded contractors hired for large-scale infrastructure projects prioritize hiring “disadvantaged workers.”




On Aug. 15, the Assembly Appropriations Committee voted 11-3 to pass a bill Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles) authored requiring state-funded contractors hired for large-scale infrastructure projects prioritize hiring “disadvantaged workers.”