NetChoice has published a Halloween edition of their 2013 Internet Advocates Watchlist of Ugly Laws (iAWFUL) list. The list features legislation that could be extremely harmful to Internet freedom and commerce. And a federal Internet Sales Tax is once again prominently featured.

eBay Inc.'s State Government Relations team hosted a visit last week by the California Capitol Black Staff Association (CCBSA). Based in the California State Capitol in Sacramento, CCBSA is a non-partisan professional development organization. In addition to professional development, CCBSA also focuses on community outreach, cultural awareness and after-hours social/networking events. This was their inaugural trip to Silicon Valley, and in addition to eBay's North San Jose Campus, they also visited Google and Facebook.

This post was written by Brian Bieron, Executive Director, Global Public Policy, eBay Inc. It first appeared on the PayPal blog.

Enjoyed our interview with Cori from UPak on the software challenges of the Marketplace Fairness Act? This week, we wanted to bring you even more perspective from another one of our community’s small business owners. In this candid interview, Tony, owner of Fredrickson’s, discusses his fears regarding the Marketplace Fairness Act.

Last week lawmakers struck a deal to reopen the government and extend the country’s debt ceiling. The deal funds the government through January 15, 2014 and extends the debt limit until February 7, 2014. As part of the deal a joint conference committee of 7 House members and 22 Senators was formed. The committee has until mid-December to construct a 2014 budget. See below the full list of the Members on this committee: