Crime has become a big topic in the California State Legislature, reflecting the growing frustration many residents have expressed over crime rates.
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Both the Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees largely cleared the way for a number of high-profile bills to advance.
Whether you love them, hate them, or just wish they’d stop telling you to “place your items in the bagging area,” self-checkout lanes at supermarkets and other retailers seem like they’re here to stay. But a California lawmaker has proposed a bill that would regulate their use throughout the state and change things up for both customers and store employees.
Some shoppers find them extremely convenient; others loathe them. As retailers seek to cut costs while “improving the customer experience” at stores, self-checkout lanes have proliferated.
A state senate bill passed through the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously last week. SB 1446 would make a number of changes — including barring grocery and drug stores from using self-checkouts unless one staff member is monitoring them, with no more than two checkouts per worker. The worker would be required to be relieved of all other duties.
A California bill reportedly aimed at preventing shoplifting could significantly restrict the use of self-checkout kiosks at large grocery and drug stores and lead to higher prices.
A legislative package aimed at reducing retail crime includes a requirement for much closer supervision of self-checkout in stores.
State Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas stated that establishments that offer self-service checkout suffer 16 times more losses from theft.