3rd Annual California Toy Day
DATE
May 14-15, 2013
Sacramento, California
REGISTRATION
Registration is free and open to toy company representatives - both TIA members and non-member prospects.
Travel Stipends
Are you registered for CA Toy Day? Are you a first-time attendee?
TIA is looking to get new companies to participate in CA Toy Day, and is pleased to offer 2 stipends of up to $500 to assist with covering travel expenses related to the event. Qualifying companies will:
- Be a TIA member,
- Be a first-time attendee at CA Toy Day, and
- Be prepared to register now for the full two-day event!
If you meet these qualifications, contact Jennifer Gibbons at 646-512-1320 or
jgibbons@toyassociation.org to become an applicant. Please note that TIA's decision to grant travel stipends shall be made in its sole discretion, and is final. Additionally, TIA will only reimburse costs that are properly substantiated with receipts, and the reimbursement will be made to the company not to the individual.
EVENT Overview
TIA California Toy Day is a series of meetings and small group discussions that brings toy company representatives together with the state’s most influential decision-makers to discuss our industry’s key issues and concerns.
Similar to TIA’s annual DC Fly-In, this event provides a critically important opportunity for small, mid-size and large toy companies to meet with California’s top legislators and help them understand:
- the vital economic role that our industry plays in both the state and the nation, and
- the impact their policy decisions have on real people and real companies in the world of toys and games.
Agenda
A welcome reception and dinner for attendees and state officials will be held on Tuesday, May 14th, followed the next day by a full schedule of presentations and small discussion groups. The morning agenda, subject to change, is expected to focus on the following key issues:
- Corporate Social Responsibility (speaker TBA);
- CA Green Chemistry Session, with an invited representative from the CA Department of Toxic Substances Control);
- CA Economic Development Efforts and Business Assistance Services Session, with an invited representative from CA GoBiz; and
- Environmental Policy – Legislative Perspective on Extended Producer Responsibility, Proposition 65 and Packaging Laws, presented by invited state legislators.
A representative of the California Attorney General’s Office has been invited to address online privacy laws, issues surrounding disclosure and supply chain, and Proposition 65 during a luncheon, with the afternoon dedicated to corporate team meetings with state lawmakers. The event will conclude with a reception Wednesday evening, fostering further conversation as toy industry professionals continue to meet, engage and inform key policy makers and their staff.
Download the draft agenda here.
Donate Toys for the Legislative Reception
TIA is soliciting toy and games for gift bags that will be distributed to key policy makers during the May 15th Legislative Reception.
300-400 pieces of each toy will be needed. The retail value of each product should be modest (general guideline: $10 or less) and the product should be relatively small in size. Toys must comply with requirements of the CPSIA – including safety standard ASTM F963 – and be either suitable for all ages or appropriately age-graded.
If your company would like to donate toys to be included in the bags, or if your company would like to sponsor the bags, please contact TIA’s Jennifer Gibbons (916-594-9432).
LOCATION
The Citizen Hotel
926 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-447-2700
A special group room rate of $159 per night (plus applicable taxes and fees) is available. To receive this rate, please contact the hotel directly and reference “Toy Industry Association,” or make an online reservation. All reservations must be made by April 22, 2013.
More Information
Andrew Hackman (202.459.0356)
Vice President, Government Affairs
Looking back
TIA’s Second Annual California Toy Day Delivers Impactful Program
April 23, 2012 | Small, mid-size and large toy companies met one-on-one with more than 30 legislators to discuss the toy industry’s key legislative issues and concerns at the Toy Industry Association’s (TIA) second annual California Toy Day, held in Sacramento from April 17-18, 2012.
“TIA’s second annual California Toy Day was a resounding success,” said TIA President Carter Keithley. “The quality of the program, the impact of our advocacy, the volume of the meetings, and legislator attendance at the reception grew significantly, further establishing the importance of this event and the significant role that the toy industry plays in the state of California.”
Throughout the event, toy industry participants held nearly 20 private meetings with leading lawmakers to discuss the vital economic role that the industry plays in the state and the nation, as well as the impact of policy decisions on the world of toys and games. TIA members focused in particular on the need for consideration of the safety of toys within the context of “Green Chemistry,” a current hot button issue in California which relates to the process of prioritizing and regulating the use of “chemicals of concern” in consumer products under the California Green Chemistry Act.
Toy Day kicked off with a Welcoming Dinner with key legislators and TIA member representatives on the evening of April 17th, followed by an early morning orientation, and a full day of meetings, breakout group discussions with state officials, and a VIP tour of the state capitol on April 18th.
Willie Lewis Brown, Jr., former San Francisco Mayor and former Speaker of the California State Assembly, presented the keynote address on the morning of the 18th, followed by presentations covering topics such as California’s Green Chemistry Initiative (with Deborah Raphael, Director, California Department of Toxic Substances Control); California Environmental Policy – Legislative Perspective (with Assemblymember Bob Wieckowski (D – Fremont), Chair, Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee); Bridging the Gap: How the California Legislature Can Impact the Health of California’s Business Climate (with Senators Anthony Cannella (R – Modesto) and Michael Rubio (D – Bakersfield)); and Legislating Safety with Sound Science (with Doctor Richard Pan, Assemblymember (D – Sacramento)).
The culmination of California Toy Day 2012 was a Legislative Reception that brought toy industry representatives together with 260 legislators, legislative staff and special members of the capitol advocacy community for personalized interactions and follow-up conversations about the day’s key issues.
“Each Assemblymember and Senator we met with listened and learned about the toy industry and the issues the industry faces,” said participant Stevanne Auerbach, toy and play expert (known as “Dr. Toy”). “They asked thoughtful questions, discussed their perceptions and expressed their willingness to support the efforts being made by our vibrant and dynamic industry.”
California is regularly at the forefront of legislative and regulatory activity that impacts the toy industry and more than 20% of TIA’s members are located in the state. Collectively, toy companies, retailers, wholesalers and distributors account for an estimated 91,173 jobs in California, business taxes in excess of $2.45 Billion and a total economic impact of $17.8 Billion. The goal of TIA’s California Toy Day is to demonstrate the importance of the toy industry to key California policymakers and to advocate for policies that acknowledge the safety of toys.