Why It Matters
Inspire Brands Inc. lists three policy subjects in its third quarter of 2026 disclosure: the Common Cents Act of 2025, which concerns ending penny production and rounding cash transactions; the American Franchise Act, which would protect the franchise model and codify the existing joint employer standard; and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The filing cites the Common Cents Act of 2025 (H.R. 3074/S. 1525), which would stop penny minting and require cash transactions to round to the nearest nickel, and the American Franchise Act (H.R. 5267/S. 3525), which would codify the existing joint-employer standard and protect the franchise model.
By the Numbers
The third quarter 2026 report, signed October 1, discloses $170,000 in lobbying expenses. This is in-house lobbying, with Inspire Brands serving as its own registrant and sole client. Spending held at $120,000 per quarter from the third quarter of 2025 through the first quarter of 2026, then rose to $170,000 in the second quarter of 2026 and held at that level this quarter.
Ashley Coneff, vice president of government relations and social impact, is one of three Inspire Brands Inc. lobbyists named on the filing. She is joined by Libby Sharp, director of government affairs, and Dylann Middleton, federal government affairs manager. Sharp's listed Senate experience includes a role in Sen. John Cornyn's (R-TX) office; Middleton's includes a role in Sen. Tammy Duckworth's (D-IL) office. The issue set, spending figure, and three-person team are unchanged from the second-quarter 2026 report.
The Agenda
The National Retail Federation has lobbied Congress and the administration for consistent guidance on rounding, while trade groups representing gas stations, convenience stores, travel centers and grocery stores warned that unresolved issues could make cash transactions difficult in some areas.
In October 2023 that a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rule adopted that year could make companies responsible for franchisee labor violations when they exercised direct or indirect control over pay, scheduling, or supervision. A Texas federal court blocked that NLRB rule in 2024, according to the Associated Press.
On trade, the filing describes USMCA as governing North American manufacturing, labor, agriculture, and supply chains. Goods qualifying under USMCA rules were exempted from certain 2025 tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada.
The Bottom Line
Inspire Brands' third-quarter 2026 in-house disclosure reflects a stable issue agenda, unchanged from the prior quarter, across cash-transaction rules, franchise employment liability, and North American trade policy, with no shift in spending or personnel.
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