2016 GLW Golf Outing
June 7, 2016
Click here to Register
2016 Friends 'N Fairways
August 3 & 4
Click here to Register
2016 NPCA Convention
Courtyard Marriott
Downtown- Haymarket
Lincoln, NE
September 28-30
PACE Show 2017
February 24 & 25
www.paceshow.com
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Thank You to NPCA's Partners
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Want to be an NPCA Partner,
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PLEASE SHARE WITH EMPLOYEES
APRIL 15TH NEW DEADLINE
Amount: $1,000 minimum
Eligibility: Graduating seniors from any high school in Nebraska
Criteria: Offspring of a Nebraska Petroleum Marketer or their employee, will attend college in
Nebraska, upper 1/3 of high school class.
The George L. Watters Memorial Scholarship was established in 1988. George Watters was an
outstanding and well-respected representative of the petroleum marketing industry. Following
his death several years ago, the Nebraska Petroleum Marketers Association established this
scholarship to properly recall George's leadership and integrity in the field. The Nebraska
Petroleum Marketers, a member of the Petroleum Marketers Association of America, seeks to
unify petroleum marketers throughout the state to effectively further the common interests of
the petroleum marketing industry.
PLEASE SHARE WITH EMPLOYEES
April 15th NEW DEADLINE
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YOUR WEEKLY MEMBER NEWS LETTER:
is a service provided only to members of the Nebraska Petroleum Markers & Convenience Store Association (NPCA). If you have any key personnel that would like to be added at no additional charge, please feel free to reply to
[email protected], [email protected] or call (402)-474-6691.
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SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE APRIL 15TH
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PLEASE SHARE WITH YOUR EMPLOYEES
APRIL 15TH NEW DEADLINE
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Prohibited Delivery to Non-Compliant Underground Storage Tanks
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On April 7, 2015, a new regulation was added to the underground storage tank (UST) rule that prohibits the delivery of a regulated substance (petroleum, or hazardous substance) into an UST.
Click here to view letter
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| HAPPENINGS IN THE NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE THIS WEEK |
And then there were three, three days left in the 2016 legislative session that is. Senators adjourned around 7:38pm on Thursday of this week and began a four day weekend, returning on Tuesday, April 12
th
at 9:00am to put the finishing touches on this year's session. Senators will be in session on April 12
th
, 13
th
, and adjourn Sine Die on April 20
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.
Actions taken in the Legislature this week - AKA Cloture Week:
On April 7th of this week Governor Ricketts signed LB887, a bill to extend the eligibility date in which a claim can be turned into the state L.U.S.T. fund to June 30, 2020.
Monday - LB10 ("Winner Take All") was advanced to Final Reading after a four hour filibuster and a successful cloture vote on Select File.
Tuesday - LB745 a bill that increases fees within Game and Parks was again filibustered for four hours on Select File before garnering a successful cloture vote (44-4, 33 needed) and was moved to Final Reading on a 43-3 vote.
Also on Tuesday LB643 (medical marijuana) encountered a filibuster by those opposed to such a use of an illegal drug, but it only obtained 30 of the 33 necessary votes for cloture and thus killing the bill for the year.
Wednesday - LB959 (school aid) also was subject to a filibuster and successfully obtained the 33 votes needed (44-1) to invoke cloture and was advanced to Final Reading. The bill makes changes to portions of the school aid formula by shifting $8.5 million per year of property tax dollars to the state, coming out of the state's general fund. The intention is to allow school districts to reduce their property tax levies below $0.95/$100 in valuation and not lose state aid.
The bill also makes adjustments to the special tax levy (Qualified Capital Projects Undertaking Fund - QCPUF) for existing projects. Under current statute, schools can levy an additional $0.052 for projects related to life safety, environmental hazards, accessibility barriers and mold removal. Under LB959 the levy amount is reduced to $0.03 for new projects.
Also on Wednesday, LB1067 also endured a filibuster and successful cloture vote to advance to Final Reading. The bill makes changes related to learning communities, addresses community achievement issues, and adjusts option enrolment provisions.
Thursday - LB958 (property tax relief) was advanced from Select File after AM2814 was adopted which removed language aimed at controlling community college spending, both on their operating budget and saved-up-budget authority, to a 3% growth factor annually.
The bill will now provide an additional $20 million to the state's Property Tax Credit Fund starting in 2017. These new dollars will only be available to ag land owners and would have ag land owners see about $108 per $100,000 in valuation in added property tax relief.
Still to come next week will be:
Twenty-three bills that are on Final Reading, in which Speaker Hadley has filed a motion to suspend the rules and vote on final passage without further amendments, motions, or debate.
Bills of interest included in the above group include:
LB977
Change provisions relating to implements of husbandry on highways. A bill to allow for vehicles of husbandry to exceed weight limits with restrictions to following the current bridge formula in relation to crossing bridges.
The Committee Amendment revises the language of LB977 as introduced to add:
a new subsection is added which provides that when an implement of husbandry crosses any bridge or culvert, it shall not be exempt from vehicle weight requirements; and
Adds "self-propelled farm equipment" to the definition of implement of husbandry and modifies the definition of "farm tractor to "farm tractor with or without a towed farm implement". (LB 977)
Section 60-6,144 is amended- use of freeways. The section is amended by adding a cross-reference to section 20. (LB 977)
AM2623 was adopted March 23rd and addressed the concerns of the county officials' association members.
The amendment allows local jurisdictions to exercise more stringent requirements, in the form of more restrictive limits on roads within their jurisdiction in relation to weight.
It allows local authorities by "ordinance or resolution to prohibit the operation of vehicles upon any highway or impose restrictions as to the weight of vehicles, for a total period not to exceed one hundred eighty, currently ninety, days in any one calendar year, when operated upon any highway under the jurisdiction of and for the maintenance of which such local authorities are responsible whenever any such highway by reason of deterioration, rain, snow, or other climatic condition will be seriously damaged or destroyed unless the use of vehicles thereon is prohibited or the permissible weight thereof reduced.
The adoption of an ordinance or resolution by local officials will require a hearing process and vote of local authorities to enact such restrictions.
LB960
is a bill that creates an infrastructure bank and provides $450 million over 17 years to 1) accelerate the State Highway Capital Improvement Program, including the designated expressway system; 2) create a voluntary county bridge match assistance program on a pilot-test basis; and 3) establish the Economic Opportunity Program. The program would assist in the financing of transportation improvements that attract and support new business development and business expansion.
LB1105
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Change and eliminate beverage regulations and licensure provisions and create the Nebraska Craft Brewery Board.
Bills on Final Reading that will most likely see extended debate and most likely be filibustered:
LB959
- school aid bill that was filibustered on both general and select file.
LB745
- increased fees for the funding of Game and Parks.
LB10
- "Winner Take All"
The last day of the session, April 20th, is purposely set a week later than the 59th day to allow the Legislature to take up an vetoes made by Governor Ricketts for bills that may be passed on final reading on the 13th.
The governor has five days (excluding Sundays) to sign or veto a bill. During the session, when the legislature is regularly in session, lawmakers have the opportunity to attempt to override a veto if they so choose, but if a bill is passed on the last day of the session and the governor vetoes the bill there is no option afforded the legislature to consider a veto override, thus the gap between the 59th & 60th day.
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INDUSTRY GROUPS CRITICIZE EPA OVER BACKGROUND OZONE ESTIMATES
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According to state environmental groups and industry groups, the EPA isn't doing enough to properly calculate background ozone effect on air quality, therefore making the EPA data not useful in supporting implementation of the 2015 national ozone standard that was set at 70 parts per billion (ppb). Background ozone is formed from natural sources in the U.S. plus natural and human related pollutant sources in countries outside the U.S. The groups say that the EPA ozone background estimates are incorrect and underestimate attainment problems for areas, particularly in more vulnerable places in the Western U.S. to achieve the 70 ppb standard.
It is expected that the issue of background ozone will become an important argument in upcoming litigation concerning the 2015 ozone standards, which the EPA has projected to cost nearly $1.4 billion annually. PMAA has argued that the EPA's ozone standard is unattainable and will result in jobs losses. PMAA also opposed lowering the ozone standard in written comments to the White House and we continue to support legislation that will roll back or minimize the new ozone mandate, including legislation recently introduced by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), the "Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2016" that would delay the EPA's implementation of its ozone standard in some states and completely exempt other areas from having to comply.
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SNAP COMMENTS DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MAY
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USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has extended the comment period regarding the February 17, 2016, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) proposed rule such that final comments are now due on May 18 instead of April 18. To review the proposed rule, click
here. The proposed rule goes much further in changing the retailer SNAP participation requirements than congress intended in the statutory requirements of the 2014 Farm Bill.
Under the proposed rule, in order for retailers to participate in the SNAP program, "multiple ingredient" items (cold pizza) would not be counted in any staple food category and would not count toward meeting a retailer's "depth of stock" requirements. Currently multiple ingredient foods can be counted under the category of the main ingredient. The proposal would require that retailers always have six different units of any food item that are in the store and are counted under the four mandated categories (requiring seven different options in each category) of eligibility for SNAP participation, i.e. 7x4=28, 28x6=168. Stores would be required to publicly display 168 units of single-ingredient food items at all times. FNS estimates that the costs for stocking additional items would be $140 on average. Also the FNS proposes that stores that do not have 85% or more of their "total food sales" in items that are not cooked or heated on site, before or after purchase, that those stores would be ineligible for the program.
PMAA's Convenience Store Committee is drafting comments to submit on the rule.
In addition to submitting PMAA comments on the proposed rule, we will soon provide instructions for those retailers who would also like to submit their own comments for the record. Further, in the coming weeks, we will provide directions on reaching out to Members of Congress and the Senate to seek intervention of the FNS proposed regulatory over-reach.
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PMAA'S CONTINUED EMERGENCY PLANNING EFFORTS
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As we have done since Hurricane Sandy occurred, PMAA actively participated this week in the Oil and Natural Gas (ONG) Sector Coordinating Committee (SCC) meeting and the ONG SCC (industry)/Government Coordinating Committee (GCC) meeting. Prior to the meeting PMAA submitted comments for the updated industry/government handbook "Oil and Natural Gas Preparedness and Response Strategy". PMAA's Disaster Preparedness and Planning Task Force provided a great deal of feedback regarding the original 2014 ONG handbook as well as the National Petroleum Council's emergency handbook.
Sam Bell, PMAA's Director of Disaster Response spent Monday and Tuesday engaging in the meetings and making certain that the needs of marketers are heard and incorporated in plans that are a consequence of the groups' endeavors. In addition, PMAA's consistent involvement with these groups paves the way for faster government responses to waiver requests during emergencies.
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FAA TAX EXTENDERS BILL CLOSE TO BEING FINALIZED
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On Wednesday, the Senate resumed debate over reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) bill, including discussion regarding potential inclusion of extension of some energy tax credits, particularly some that were not included in the 50 credits that were extended last year such as lifting oil export ban. Included in the deal is an investment tax credit (ITC) for technologies such as geothermal and fuel cells that were left out of a year-end omnibus bill that extended the credits for the wind and solar industries. Also, in addition to a 30 percent credit for fuel cells and small wind projects, a portion of the investment tax credit provides a 10 percent credit for geothermal and combined heat and power projects.
Included in the 2015 tax extenders was the $1 per-gallon biodiesel blender's tax credit and a 30 percent investment tax credit for alternative fuel pumps. This was a huge victory for petroleum marketers because there was a legislative push to move the biodiesel blender's credit to the production level. PMAA actively lobbied Congress on this, particularly on behalf of heating oil dealers and their consumers who almost certainly would have experienced an increase in the price of heating oil. However, Capitol Hill news outlets and Senate sources are confirming that the biodiesel tax credit is very likely to be included in the deal, due to a recent push by industry groups to move the credit to the producer level. PMAA recently signed on to a letter to the Senate Finance Committee opposing this push from a biodiesel blender's credit to a producer's credit.
While Senate Democrats believe a deal has been reached to extend certain renewable energy tax credits in the FAA bill, Republicans say that the Senate is still debating which amendments will be included as well as the length of the credits. Republican leaders have said that a compromise is likely as long as there are offsets that Democrats will agree to in exchange for the energy credits. Nonetheless, even if a deal is reached in the Senate, it would run into a road block in the form of a Republican controlled House.
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MARCH 2016 PMAA SMALL BUSINESS COMMITTEE (SBC) PAC
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PAC Co-Chairs Brad Bell and Tim Keigher are grateful for the PMAA Small Business Committee (SBC) PAC contributions from the following individuals during the March 1 - 31, 2016 time frame:
Idaho: Bob Coleman, Ian Coleman
Kansas: Clay Dark , Danny Fast, Michael Groves, Patrick Lingg, Terry Litwiller, Matt Mildenberger, Michael Murphy, Gratz Peters, Marvin Spees, Harold Taylor, Norman Volz
Maine: Michael Estes
Maryland: Michael Abercrombie Jr., Hossein Ejtemai, Melvin Strine, Stanley Tevis III
New York: James Buhrmaster
South Carolina: Sam Bell, Jason Brooks, Kirk Darby, Matthew Greene, Bill Hemmingway, Chad Ingram, David Jordan, Steve Spinks
Utah: Ellis Pierce
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FEDERATED INSURANCE INTRODUCES ENHANCED TANKER ROLLOVER PREVENTION PROGRAM
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Property damage, pollution liability, lost revenue, injuries, fatalities, damaged reputation-all potential outcomes of a single tanker rollover.
Petroleum marketers and transport companies know that simply alerting drivers to this risk may not be enough. But, when they combine critical information with compelling and effective training, they can help protect their drivers and the lives of other motorists.
To support our petroleum marketer clients and their employee drivers, Federated Insurance is introducing an enhanced tanker rollover education and prevention program: "The Point of No Return."
This updated program examines the causes, effects, and prevention of rollover accidents. The materials incorporate recommendations from Federated petroleum marketer clients and national recommending associations PMAA and SIGMA. Included are a training video and employee safety meeting handouts, which discuss the principles of S.A.F.E. driving (Speed, Attention, Fatigue, Emotion). These four factors can increase the potential for a rollover, but the knowledge gained through "The Point of No Return" tanker rollover prevention program could help drivers make it home safely every day. Please read "
Understanding S.A.F.E. Driving".
"The Point of No Return" materials will be available to all Federated petroleum marketer clients in the months ahead. For more information on this and Federated Insurance's other risk management programs, or to locate your local representative, please contact your Federated regional representative or PMAA's National Account Executive
Jerry Leemkuil at 800.533.0472 or
visit
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MARCH 2016 CONTRIBUTORS TO PMAA MDF
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PMAA wants to thank the following individuals for their Marketer Defense Fund (MDF) contributions during the March 1- 31, 2016 timeframe:
Alabama: Dean Mooty
California: Bob Shuster
Florida: Bill McKnight
Illinois: Matt Schrimpf
Iowa: Lisa Abens, Larry Bentler, Mark Meyer, Ronald G. Wessels
Louisiana: Darrel McCartney
Michigan: Jim O'Connor
Minnesota: Tom Severson
Mississippi: Mississippi Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Stores Association
Nebraska: Douglas Hall
New Jersey: Ernest Behrens
North Carolina: John Fuquay, Bill Tome
Oregon: Sam Byrnes
Pennsylvania: Michael DeBerdine Jr., Douglas Woosnam
South Carolina: Richard Mixson Jr., Bill Rogers
Tennessee: Paul Fisher
Virginia: Lewis E. Wall Jr.
West Virginia: John Heater
Corporate donations are acceptable. MDF funds have been used for various studies, litigation and disaster relief dedicated to strengthening our lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill. Click
here
to donate to the PMAA MDF.
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FEDERATED INSURANCE EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES NETWORK HR QUESTION OF THE MONTH
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Federated Insurance's HR Question of the Month focuses on employment-related practices liability issues. March's topic was: Time Off Denial - Legal or not? Please click
here to read the response.
For additional information or to discuss this in further detail, please contact your Federated regional representative or PMAA's National Account Executive
Jerry Leemkuil at 800.533.0472.
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AUTOGRAPHED SUPER BOWL 50 PEYTON MANNING FOOTBALL
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Get your PMAA Marketer Defense Fund (MDF) raffle tickets now for a chance to win a Super Bowl 50 football autographed by the NFL's all-time passing yards leader, two-time Super Bowl Champion and Future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning! In addition to the football, you will also receive a display case!
The PMAA Marketer Defense Fund (MDF) will hold a raffle during the Washington, DC May 18-20 conference and the raffle winner will be identified during the conference on May 20. The winner does not have to be present to win. If you are not attending the conference, you will be notified the week following the May drawing if you are the fortunate owner of the autographed Super Bowl 50 Peyton Manning football and display case.
PMAA thanks Mike Rud and the North Dakota Petroleum Marketers Association for contributing the autographed football and display case to the PMAA MDF.
The proceeds of the raffle will benefit the PMAA MDF. PMAA established the Marketer Defense Fund, sometimes referred as the 535 Fund or MDF, as a method to obtain corporate donations for priority projects. The MDF Program is different from PMAA's Small Business Committee PAC and is designed to supplement PMAA's lobbying budget to cover priority projects, i.e., some aspects of a political event or for public relations campaigns related to a legislative initiative. For example, part of the monies collected for the MDF have been used for research projects to defeat regulatory initiatives such as an efforts to mandate a 10 micron diesel filter, wetlines retrofit, as well as automatic temperature compensation (ATC) at retail. The MDF has saved marketers approximately $1.3 billion which equals $162,500 per marketer. Additionally, the MDF has been used on:
- A diesel fuel corrosion study
- Hiring outside consultants to represent PMAA at several regulatory agencies
- Paying for PMAA marketer travel for important underground storage tank (UST) meetings
- Splash blending litigation
- Interchange fee coalition activities
- Supporting local charity events.
A marketer can make corporate contributions by check or credit card to this program and there is no limit on the amount of contribution. All the money is used to support PMAA lobbying goals. You can donate online by clicking
here.
Tickets are $20 each or six for $100. Advanced tickets are available until May 16. Ticket sales will continue at PMAA's conference in DC until the drawing on May 20. Tickets can be purchased with personal or corporate funds by MasterCard, VISA, American Express, cash or check (checks should be made out to the PMAA Marketer Defense Fund). To purchase tickets before May 16, please contact
Susan Isard or 703-351-8000.
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PMAA CORPORATE PARTNER SPOTLIGHT INTRODUCING: PINNACLE CORPORATION
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The Officers, Executive Committee, and PMAA staff are pleased to welcome PMAA's new Silver Corporate Partner:
Pinnacle Corporation. Pinnacle has been providing automation solutions for the convenience store and petroleum marketing industries for over two decades. Nationwide, Pinnacle's products and services are used daily in thousands of convenience outlets to automate and improve store operations, and by fuel marketers to increase efficiency in the complex management of fuel logistics.
We are committed to forming strong relationships with our clients. We listen to your needs and provide you with flexible, customizable, scalable software solutions that expand with your technological requirements. We are dedicated to the development of industry leading technology to automate your business from end-to-end, keeping you ahead of your competition. We are also committed to continually reinvesting revenue into research and development and ensuring you have the best resources at your disposal
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PMAA MEMBER SERVICES SPOTLIGHT FEATURING: LABORCHEX
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Checking Social Media of Job Applicants
You are hearing and reading stories about companies that are requiring job applicants to reveal their social media accounts, including passwords. These companies believe that by viewing an applicant's social media activity they can get a better handle on his/her ability to be a productive employee.
At Laborchex, Inc., we do not provide social media checks and cannot envision a scenario where we would. The reasons why are very basic, and should make you think about this potentially risky practice.
- Many employers now accept job applications online. It can save time, money, and paper. Longstanding federal law does not permit a job application to inquire ask about sex, race, religion, family, personal habits, etc. But if you check someone's social media accounts you can learn about all of these things which legally cannot be used in your hiring process. An applicant who is denied employment and knows that social media was checked could easily claim some type of discrimination because you learned things that you could never ask on an application or during an interview.
- With all the sharing of information, such as photos and videos that are routinely uploaded by friends, enemies, and others to social media accounts, how would you decipher what is real and legitimate? Your applicant could be a person who would never use illegal drugs, but someone with a grudge manages to post a photo-shopped picture of your applicant smoking a crack pipe. You deny employment on something that is not real. Can you spell "lawsuit?"
As a background screening company we surely understand the needs of our clients to do everything they can to hire safe and reliable workforces. But when it comes to checking social media, we suggest that such a decision must be guided by ethical principles, common sense, and your legal counsel.
LaborChex is a PMAA Vendor who has been serving clients nationwide since 1991 and provides employment background screening services to PMAA members at discounted pricing. For more information, review PMAA's current program or email Steven J. Austin or by phone at 601.624.4321.
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Nebraska Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association | (402) 474-6691 |
www.npcainc.com |
1320 Lincoln Mall, Suite 100B
Lincoln, NE 68508
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Copyright © 20XX. All Rights Reserved.
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