BECOMING A MEMBER OF RAM IS ONE OF THE BEST DECISIONS YOU CAN MAKE FOR YOUR BUSINESS.
By joining you gain access to exclusive, money saving discounts on services and programs, legislative updates and advocacy as well as valuable educational opportunities. We aim to help you grow and protect your business, promote the retail industry and save your business money. Click here to JOIN NOW!
Gov. Maura Healey to Speak at
106th RAM Annual Meeting Luncheon
RAM is thrilled to announce that Governor Maura Healey will deliver Keynote Address at RAM’s Annual Meeting luncheon where the RAM Awards of Excellence (RAMAES) will be presented.
Wednesday, November 20th
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The Conference Center at Bentley University
175 Forest St., LaCava Campus Center, Waltham
Dave Ratner, Founder and CEO of Dave’s Pet Food, will present the RAMAES including Retailer of the Year and Restaurant of the Year.
2024 Holiday Sales Prediction
Retailers Association of Massachusetts
Predicts 1.5% Increase in Holiday Sales
Click here for benefits summary.
RAMHIC Offerings for 2024
RAMHIC continues to partner with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts to offer members access to the carrier's entire portfolio of high quality, small group health insurance plans.
All members purchasing their health insurance coverage through the cooperative will also receive an expanded list of ancillary benefits, FREE of charge.
Click image above to view a BCBS produced informational video on the power of the RAM/BCBS Cooperative.
Please see our brochure for more detail on the expanded benefit package. Specific information regarding each benefit may be found below:
For more information please visit the RAMHIC page of our website.
We are excited to announce we have enhanced our Multiple Employer 401k (MEP) program. Available only to our members, we have a new partner, Transamerica Retirement Services. Transamerica is an industry leader in retirement plan marketplace and an expert in Multiple Employer 401k Retirement Plans.
In addition to Transamerica, you also have professional fiduciary investment management provided by Atlas Fiduciary Services, Inc., and outsourced fiduciary plan administration through Atlas Pension Administrators Inc. All of this and you can work with an advisor of your choice.
Adopting members will experience:
- Fewer plan administration duties
- Reduced fiduciary liability
- Streamlined costs.
- Flexible plan design
- Online account management
- Employee education and communication support
Now has never been a better time to set up a new 401k plan for your business! The federal government has tremendous tax credits for newly established plan, virtually making the prospects of offering a plan free.
If you already have a plan, a quick evaluation can help determine what your saving might be under our MEP 401k plan with our complementary benchmark analysis.
Attention RAM Cannabis Members!
Cannabis Control Commission Eliminates “Two-driver” Rule
At a meeting on Wednesday, October 30th, the MA Cannabis Control Commission approved final regulations that will ease the burden on consumer cannabis delivery companies and the transport of marijuana products for testing purposes, by eliminating the “two-driver” rule that had added unnecessary costs to the delivery process.
The changes to 935 CMR 500.00 and 935 CMR 501.00 modify the requirements to allow the delivery of marijuana and marijuana products to consumers and patients with one agent (driver) in a vehicle at a time, provided that the total retail value of all products in the vehicle is less than $5,000. For delivery or transport of product valued between $5,000 and $10,000, the two-agent requirement will remain in effect.
The regulations approved Wednesday need to be filed with the Secretary of the Commonwealth by November 8th and will then take effect on November 22nd.
The new regulations also include reforms to the treatment of Microbusinesses and Craft Marijuana Cooperatives, modifying some of their previous license restrictions.
The CCC also announced a future public meeting will be held on December 5th to open a review of the regulations relative to Social Consumption Establishment licenses. The regulations and additional information can be found on the CCC website at MassCannabisControl.com. The Commission also this week selected David Lakeman to be the next Executive Director of the agency. Lakeman was head of the Cannabis Division at the Illinois Department of Agriculture, but also previously worked at the MA CCC.
MA Legislature concludes Formal Sessions…
yet more work lies ahead in Informal Sessions, possible Special Session
The MA Legislature blew past their own July 31st midnight deadline, adjourning at 10:00 AM on August 1st, concluding formal sessions for this year following contentious overnight discussions on several bills that, ultimately, did not advance.
The Legislature will continue to meet in informal session until the end of the year, where typically only non-controversial matters are handled, as there are no roll call votes taken and the objection of any one member can block the further progress of any bill.
The final days of the session saw action on some legislative priorities, land takings and local bills, but some higher profile items, such as the Economic Development Bond Bill, did not move out of conference. The House and Senate at one point in the final day had twelve active conference committees before them, and a handful of other bills of interest to RAM members and others in the employer community which had passed one branch of the Legislature and not the other – but that were viewed as being in play. Three conference committee reports were finalized, enacted and sent to the Governor for her review. The rest remain in differing stages of legislative limbo. House and Senate leaders remain optimistic at being able to get some additional legislation passed during informal sessions and are discussing the possibility of a special session to handle the Economic Development Bond Bill if an agreement can be reached.
What didn't and did get done?
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