MONDAY MORNING MESSENGER
November 25, 2019
In Brief
In this issue of the Monday Morning Messenger , we update you on the new requirement for employers of CDL drivers. Read our Top Story of the day in our detailed follow up story on the FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse.

It's been a while since there has been any chatter on the alternative fuel tax credit, but last week legislators on Capitol Hill have brought it back in the spotlight. Learn more in our On the Hill section of the morning.

Plan on shopping online on Black Friday? Well, did you know if you shop on Amazon, a portion of your purchase can go back to the NPGA Scholarship Foundation? TPGA will tell you how in our third story of the morning.

The holidays are upon us, and it is a great time to reach your customers of why propane is holiday favorite and important winter safety tips different from what's found in your Duty to Warn brochure. The Propane Council of Texas is accepting registrations for the Winter edition of Propane Living mailed to over 100,000.
Read our last story of the morning to find out how to subscribe your customers.
MEMBERS ONLY
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
In this issue
  • In Brief
  • Top Story: Compliance
  • Alt Fuel Tax Credit
  • Black Friday
  • Marketing Minute
CALENDAR

November 28-29, 2019
Happy Thanksgiving
TPGA & PSC Closed

November 30, 2019
Small Business Saturday

December 2, 2019

December 10, 2019

December 16, 2019
Top Story
Do you employ CDL DRIVERS?
Then is applies to YOU
FMCSA Opens Registration
for Commercial Driver’s License
Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse
Last month, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) opened registration for the mandated Commercial Driver’s License Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse, TPGA previously reported on.

The Clearinghouse is a secure online database that will give employers, the FMCSA, State Driver Licensing Agencies, and State law enforcement personnel real-time information about commercial driver’s license (CDL) and commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holders’ drug and alcohol program violations .

Regardless if you are interstate or intrastate , your drivers are subject to the Drug & Alcohol Testing Requirements of 49 CFR 40 and in Part 382 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR).

Employer Required Use Overview
Beginning January 6, 2020 , employers will be required:

  • To query the Clearinghouse for current and prospective employees' drug and alcohol violations before permitting those employees to operate a CMV on public roads.

  • To annually query the Clearinghouse for each driver they currently employ.

Authorized Users
To access the clearinghouse, authorized users must register. 
These users include:
  • Drivers who hold a commercial driver’s license (CDL) or commercial learner’s permit (CLP).
  • Employers of CDL drivers. This includes those who employ themselves as CDL drivers (owner-operators), typically a single-driver operation.
  • Consortia/Third-Party Administrators (C/TPAs).
  • Medical Review Officers (MROs).
  • Substance Abuse Professionals (SAPs).

We know CDL drivers are authorized users, but are CDL drivers required to register for the Clearinghouse?
Drivers are not required to register for the Clearinghouse. However, a driver will need to be registered to provide electronic consent in the Clearinghouse if a prospective or current employer needs to conduct a full query of the driver’s Clearinghouse record—this will include all pre-employment queries beginning on January 6, 2020.

A driver must also be registered to electronically view the information in his or her own Clearinghouse record.

Registration
Commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders, employers, medical review officers, and substance abuse professionals can visit https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov and register to create a secure online user account before the compliance deadline of January 6, 2020.

The FMCSA’s clearinghouse website also contains important resources, including user brochures and instructional aids with step-by-step registration instructions for all users. 
On the Hill
Alternative Fuel Tax Credit Extension
Legislation Filed in Congress
The alternative fuel tax credit expired on December 31, 2017, but last week the Congressional House Ways &Means Committee Democrats introduced the GREEN Act. This draft legislation addresses climate change by using tax incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This comprehensive tax package includes an extension of the expired $0.50/gallon Alternative Fuels Tax Credit including propane, retroactively for two years (2018-2019), forward for two years (2020-2021) while providing a three-year “phase-down” each year in 2022 to 2024 at $0.38, $0.25, and $0.17/gallon.

Also this month, Congressional Representatives, Lizzie Fletcher, D-Texas, and Mark Wayne Mullin, R-Okla., have filed bipartisan legislation with H.R.5089, the Alternative Fuel Tax Credit (AFTC) Extension Act of 2019, which proposes to extend the expired alternative fuel tax credit for propane and other alternative fuels.

This legislation would reinstate the lapsed tax credit retroactively for two years (2018-2019) while providing a five-year extension (2020-2024) and a two-year “phase-down” at $0.25/gallon (2025-2026).

The legislation has been referred to the U.S. Congressional House Committee on Ways & Means.
Holiday Shopping
Shop Amazon on Black Friday
Support the NPGA Scholarship Foundation
When you shop Black Friday (and everyday!) through AmazonSmile, 0.5% of your purchase can go to support the National Propane Gas Foundation (NPGF) Scholarship Fund!

Last year, the NPGF Scholarship Foundation gave 95 outstanding students scholarships totaling $128,000.

If you have not already signed up for AmazonSmile, visit   smile.amazon.com  and select 'NPGF Scholarship' as your charity before you start shopping as usual.

Marketing Minute
Winter 2019 Propane Living Newsletter
Deadline is December 10, 2019
Tis' the season to remind your customers about some important winter tips , why propane, and a delectable holiday recipe for your customers to try. Subscribe your customers to the Propane Council of Texas’ Winter Propane Living newsletter to get propane educational & marketing information to your customers.

Order in bulk to your office to hand out on your bobtail routes or provide us with a mailing list by December 10 (at the very latest) and the Propane Council of Texas will mail it for you.

ProCOT covers the postage and shipping. You are in charge of a $49 fulfillment fee and less than 4 cents per address/newsletter.

Subscribe your customers!
Questions? Call (800)325-7427 or email info@propanecounciloftexas.org .