ATLANTA—Today, NetChoice sent a letter to Gov. Brian Kemp, outlining the problems with Georgia SB 472, which lets criminals off the hook for retail crimes, and respectfully asking him to veto it.
This bill, if implemented, would violate existing federal law, create confusion and regulatory chaos for businesses operating in Georgia and prop up market incumbents, violating free market principles. It ignores that this is a law enforcement issue where the state should really be more aggressively investigating and prosecuting organized criminals, and it forces some businesses to shoulder the burden of criminal enforcement for an entire global market, while their competitors reap the benefits.
“If the goal is genuinely to minimize or eliminate organized retail crime, the focus must be on giving law enforcement officers what they need to combat sophisticated criminal enterprises,” said Amy Bos, NetChoice Director of State & Federal Affairs. “Shifting the blame and the policy discussion to small sellers using online platforms misses the mark entirely. There is nothing stopping the state from pursuing more aggressive actions against the perpetrators of organized retail crime directly, which would likely garner the support of every retailer, on or offline.”
You can read NetChoice’s letter to Gov. Kemp here.
Please contact press@netchoice.org with inquiries.