12 PCA The Magazine | JULY-AUGUST 2019 PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG Status of Premium Cigar Tax Increases So far during 2019 no premium cigar tax increases have passed. Many of the worst threats are behind us this year, but there is still some pending legislation. PCA staff is monitoring this legislation and will keep members apprised of any viable tax threats. If you have questions about legislation on the state level, please contact Senior Director of State Affairs Rachel Hall at
[email protected] or the member of our team who handles your state: — Brett Mecum at
[email protected] : AR , IA, KS, MN, MO, ND, NE, NY, OK, SD, WI — Tyler Henson at
[email protected] : AK , AZ, CO, HI, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, TX, UT, WA — Dave Jessup at
[email protected] : GA , IL, IN, KY, MI, OH, PA, TN, WV FEDERAL BRIEFING New Director of Federal Affairs Joshua Habursky The Premium Cigar Association’s new director of federal affairs is bringing a grassroots approach to the position. Joshua Habursky, who most recently was assistant vice president of advocacy at the Independent Community Bankers of America, founded the Grassroots Professional Network in 2016 and is working to apply that grassroots philosophy to PCA’s advocacy efforts. “Grassroots is about engaging average citizens to find some type of an emotional appeal, whether it goes to their pocketbooks or their heartstrings or somehow they’re interested enough to write to Congress, meet their representatives and build an overall relationship with an elected official,” says Habursky. “So a lot of my background has been creating those communication channels for people to easily do that. Right now, PCA is building a lot of those portals for people to engage with members of Congress on a regular basis.” More specifically, in 2018, Habursky was tasked by PCA as a consultant to create a portal to help cigar enthusiasts participate at the grassroots level. The result was cigaraction. org , a “one-stop shop” to help PCA’s retail members engage with Congress. Habursky sees a natural parallel to applying that grassroots approach when advocating directly for PCA on Capitol Hill. “I think PCA has done a great job with lobbying and advocacy and that’s something that I’m going to continue to do, but we also want to make sure when we’re in those meetings that we’re telling the story of the small business owners,” he says. “We’re sharing why premium cigar retailers are important to their communities; that most of our members have a center where politics, business, trade—just about everything—is discussed within their store. That our members’ shops are a community center and serve a community purpose.” Habursky was recently named to The Hill’s Top Lobbyist list and AssociationTRENDS 2019 Top Association Lobbyist. “Joshua brings an impressive background of proven experience in advocacy, both grassroots and grass tops,” says Scott Pearce, PCA executive director. “Not only is he accomplished, but Joshua is an avid cigar lover and will bring serious dedication and passion to his work to advocate for our industry. I’m confident that he will continue to build on the great work of his predecessor and implement some innovative ways for us to carry our message forward.” Education, Habursky believes, will be an essential part of carrying that message forward. He plans to host webinars throughout the year to not only train members on advocacy strategies but also to educate policymakers inside the beltway. And he’s not Joshua Habursky News + Notes