TopofPageMidwest Food Processors Association News Bulletin  - July 1, 2015   
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Rauner Plan To Pay IL Government Employees Challenged By State AG
IL Capitol

IL Republican Governor Bruce Rauner sent a memo to employees this week in an attempt to reassure them that they will get their paychecks as scheduled and they should continue punching in on Wednesday when the new fiscal year begins.  

 

However, the IL Democrat Attorney General, Lisa Madigan, says there can be no paychecks without a budget.

 

Rauner maintains there is legal precedent to issue paychecks to 65,000 government workers after the start of the fiscal year.  

 

Madigan says the union lawsuit in 2007 during a budget impasse, which is cited by Rauner, allowed the state comptroller to make payroll under very limited circumstances.

 

The GOP governor and lawmakers have been at a stalemate for weeks over a spending plan for the 2016 fiscal year. Rauner wants spending cuts and business reforms; Democrats say they need to fund vital services with a tax increase, along with cuts.

 

Last week Rauner vetoed most of the budget sent to him by the Democrat-controlled legislature. That budget was more than $3 billion in the red. The IL House is now considering a temporary budget fix. House Speaker Michael Madigan proposed a $2.2 billion plan would keep core state services going through July.

 

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WI GOP Leaders Reach Deal On State Budget

Wisconsin Capitol WI GOP legislative leaders have reached a budget deal that is anticipated to be passed through the Joint Finance Committee later this week and both houses next week.

 

Financing the Milwaukee Bucks arena and prevailing wage issue had both been major sticking points on the budget. The State Assembly will come in on Tuesday, July 7 and will take up the budget bill and a prevailing wage bill.  Both are expected to pass and will sent to the Senate for action. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said the Senate will take up both bills.

  

The Bucks arena will be taken up as a separate bill and it is expected that Joint Finance will hold a hearing on the proposal on Monday.


Joint Finance Committee co-chair Rep. John Nygren said the budget deal also includes agreement on how to distribute cuts in road funding. He said the cut will be less than the $800 million that had been discussed.

 

The announced deal between Senate and Assembly leaders comes after Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said he was considering the possibility of the Assembly moving forward with a budget on its own as the two sides struggled to come to a compromise. 

 

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The MWFPA News Bulletin is underwritten in part by Wisconsin Lift Truck Corp.

Supreme Court Overturns EPA Air Quality Rule
EPA The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Obama administration's landmark air quality rule this week, ruling the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did not properly consider the costs of the regulation.

In a 5-4 ruling, the justices ruled that the EPA should have taken into account the costs to utilities and others in the power sector before even deciding whether to set limits for the toxic air pollutants it regulated in 2011.
Read more.

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House Approves Bill To Overhaul Chemical Regulation
US House of Reps The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bipartisan bill that would update regulation of harmful chemicals for the first time in nearly 40 years.

The American Chemistry Council said in a statement that the House bill "will build confidence in the U.S. chemical regulatory system, protect human health and the environment from significant risks, and meet the commercial and competitive interests of the U.S. chemical industry and the national economy." Read more.

 

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Friday/Weckel Scholarship Winners Announced

cash MWFPA has selected six candidates to receive Friday/Weckel scholarships for the 2015-16 academic year. The recipients are as follows:

 

Carlton A. Friday Scholarship Award

1.            Mackenzie Hansen    UW Madison       $1,500

2.            Wes Krug                  UW Platteville     $1,500

3.            Rachel Perry              UW Madison      $1,500

 

Kenneth G. Weckel Scholarship Award

1.            Grace Skarlupka         UW Madison     $1,500

2.            Kaylin Spaeth              UW River Falls  $1,500

3.            Kelsi Steffenhagen       UW Platteville    $1,500

 

Letters have been sent to each recipient notifying them as to their selection and inviting them to the convention in December.  

 

Thanks to the HR Committee for all their time and effort in reviewing the various applications and selecting the winners.

Welcome New Associate Members!
welcome
A warm welcome to our new Associate Member! 

Here are some highlights, learn more by clicking
 on the company name and visiting their website.


Hanson Logistics is the evolution of Hanson Cold Storage, founded in 1954 to support fruit and vegetable growers. Hanson Cold Storage grew to become the 13th largest refrigerated warehouse network in the country, with 9 facilities in Michigan and Indiana and a total capacity of 37,000,000 cu. ft. of deep frozen, refrigerated and dry warehousing space.

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Registration Now Open For Food Safety Preventative Controls Forum October 19-22, 2015
Registration is now open for the 2015 Food Safety Preventive Controls Forum sponsored by AFFI and the Midwest Food Processors Association, scheduled for Oct. 19-22 at the Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva, Wis.

Presented by top experts these two Forums, one and one half day food safety workshops, will address fundamental Food Safety Modernization Act requirements and provide guidance on how these requirements can be blended into existing in-plant food safety programs.
   

MWFPA Partners On Food Expo       

   

MWFPA is a proud partner of Process Expo 2015. This event features expertise at every link in the supply chain in the form of exhibits and the education from the nation's leading academics. See what PROCESS EXPO has to offer for your business.

 

Register Now!  

    

MWFPA Partners On Oilseed & Grain Trade Summit     

   

MWFPA is a proud partner in the 10th Annual Oilseed & Grain Trade Summit being held in Minneapolis September 30 - October 2, 2014.

 

The Oilseed and Grain Trade Summit provides unique and valuable perspectives, such as the relationship between geopolitics, global trade and agriculture!

  

For more information, to the summit website.  REGISTER by June 30, 2015 to receive an early bird rate of $800!

   
MWFPA Events
October 6, 2015: Sporting Clays Challenge. Whispering Emerald Ridge Game Farm, N3954 640th St., Menomonie, WI.

October 19-22, 2015: AFFI/MWFPA Food Safety Preventative Controls Forum, Grand Geneva Resort, Lake Geneva, WI.  Register.

October 28-29, 2015:  MWFPA HACCP Seminar, LaCrosse, WI.

December 1-3, 2015 - MWFPA 111th Annual Convention and 88th Processing Crops Conference.  KI Convention Center, Green Bay, WI.
 
Other Educational Opportunities

July 22, 2015: Foodborne Illness Outbreak Training. Continuing Education and Conference Center, University of Minnesota, St. Paul Campus, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Minnesota Department of Health, and the Minnesota Food Safety and Defense Task Force.  

 

This training will cover a foodborne illness outbreak investigation from beginning to end. Topics will include epidemiological investigation, traceback record collection, and recall best practices. Insights will be shared by industry and government experts. For more information and registration materials, click here.  

 

September 14-18, 2015: Design of Ammonia Refrigeration Systems for Peak Performance and Efficiency. Pyle Center,702 Langdon Street, Madison, WI.  Gain an understanding of  

refrigeration design principles and practices.  Attendees will learn techniques to size and properly lay out system components and design safer, more efficient systems.  For more information and registration materials, click here.

September 23-25, 2015:  Process Hazard Analysis (Emphasizing
Ammonia Refrigeration Systems)Pyle Center, 702 Langdon Street, Madison, WI.Gain an overview of PHA methodologies identified by OSHA in the PSM standard and focus on the most commonly applied PHA methodology forammonia refrigeration systems.  For more information and registration materials, click here.
  
Midwest Food Processors Assoc. | | brian.elliott@mwfpa.org | http://www.mwfpa.org
4600 American Pkwy.
Suite 210
Madison, WI 53718