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
tkeigher@npcainc.com, katie@npcainc.com or call (402)-474-6691.
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SAVE THE DATE-2017 NPCA & NPGA JOINT CONVENTION
AUG 2 & 3, LINCOLN, NE
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 MORE INFORMATION TO COME!!!
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PMAA Sends Letter to Committee Leadership Before Hearing Opposing Legislation
On Wednesday, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing on S. 517, known as the "Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act." The bill, introduced by Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE), would extend the Reid vapor pressure (RVP) waiver to ethanol blends above 10 percent which would allow retailers across the country to sell E15 year-round. In his opening statement, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY) highlighted his concerns with the increased use of E15, stating that "In Wyoming, folks want fuel with less, not more, ethanol. They have seen what ethanol does to small engines and boat engines. They worry what fuel with more ethanol will do to their car engines, and who will be stuck paying the bill. Consumers, manufacturers, and others are deeply skeptical about EPA's decision to approve E15 for use in 2001 and newer vehicles."
The witnesses included: R. Brooke Coleman (Executive Director, Advanced Biofuels Business Council), Jonathan Lewis (Senior Counsel, Clean Air Task Force), Mike Lorenz (Executive Vice President, Sheetz Inc.), Todd Teske (Chairman, President & CEO, Briggs & Stratton Corp.), and Janet Yanowitz (Principal Engineer, Ecoengineering Inc.). In his testimony, Jonathan Lewis expressed his concerns with the use of E15, stating that the use of E15 could increase nitrogen oxide emissions and push regions into non-attainment. Additionally, Todd Teske stated that E15 is not approved in the use of small engines, like the ones used on his company's equipment. Teske added that he opposes S. 517 because he believes the misfuelling of E15 would be substantial. Meanwhile, Sheetz's President Mike Lorenz said that there have not been any incidents with E15 and that consumers know what they're putting into their engines. The National Marine Manufacturers Association opposes S. 517 citing that "While the title of S. 517 contains the word 'choice', passage of this legislation would effectively deny consumers choice at the pump, while also endangering their safety on the water. There are 12 million recreational vessels registered in the United States. Ninety-five percent of these vessels are fueled at retail automotive service stations, and are dependent on a safe and legal fuel supply to operate. Ensuring all consumers have access to approved fuels is absolutely critical to recreational boaters and anglers."
On Monday, PMAA submitted a
letter for the record to Chairman Barrasso and Ranking Member Carper highlighting its concerns with S. 517. PMAA firmly believes that before Congress proceeds any further on granting a RVP waiver to blends above E10, it must first hold a hearing on the effects of ethanol blends on existing underground storage tank (UST) system infrastructure. The introduction of ethanol blends higher than 10 percent (including E15) present significant economic and legal impediments to many gasoline retailers, as well as, consumer awareness issues that go beyond the price of the fuel. Extending the RVP waiver to E15 at this point further exacerbates these concerns and could force many retailers to invest considerable time and money on an accelerated schedule to switch to an alternative fuel storage and distribution system in order to remain competitive.
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On Tuesday, PMAA joined twelve organizations in sending a
letter to the House and Senate urging them to protect the ban on privatizing and commercializing interstate rest areas and to consider legislation to incentivize investments in America's infrastructure.
In an attempt to raise state revenue, many state governments have supported the idea of commercializing rest areas, contracting fueling and other services to private vendors. While advocates for commercialization claim that such services will benefit the public, the reality is that rest area commercialization would close as many as half of the nearby interchange-based businesses (according to a 2003 study by the University of Maryland). When Congress created the Interstate Highway System in 1956, community leaders feared that local businesses, jobs, and tax bases would shrink as truckers and other motorists bypassed their cities and towns. As a result, Congress prohibited development on interstate rights of way.
The ban on the commercialization of rest areas has resulted in a strong, competitive economic environment with over 60,000 businesses developing along U.S. interstate highways. Prohibiting publicly-run rest areas from competing with private sector businesses has been an undeniable success, resulting in industries that provide valuable services such as gas stations, travel plazas, truck stops, restaurants, and hotels.
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On Tuesday, a bipartisan letter was sent to House Ways & Means Committee leadership that was signed by more than 250 members. The letter that was signed by 119 Republicans asks that tax code reform also include a permanent funding fix for the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). The letter originated from Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) who chairs the House Transportation Highways and Transit Subcommittee, and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), but only lays out a broad concept without getting into specifics as to how to achieve the fix.
Congressman Graves, who is a contender for the House Transportation Committee Chair once Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) is term-limited out, has a permanent fix to the HTF among his top priorities.
In April, Rep. Graves and Del. Holmes Norton sent a similar letter to the House Ways and Means Committee requesting that the committee include a long-term HTF fix in any tax code overhaul the committee undertakes. Both letters note that "a long-term solution to the HTF structural revenue deficit would promote increased transportation infrastructure investment and meaningful economic growth in every state."
Graves and Norton stated further that "over the past 30 years, all HTF revenue enhancements have been included in larger tax and deficit reduction packages. Any HTF solution should entail a long-term, dedicated, user-based revenue stream that can support the transportation infrastructure investment supported by President Trump and members of Congress from both parties."
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SUPREME COURT DENIES ELECTRONIC LOGGING CHALLENGE
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On June 12, the Supreme Court announced it will not hear a lawsuit challenging a DOT rule requiring truck operators to use electronic logging devices (ELD) to track hours of service, leaving in place a lower court ruling upholding the mandate and its December 18 compliance deadline.
Earlier this year, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to hear its lawsuit seeking to overturn the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) electronic log book ELD mandate for recording driver hours of service. The OOIDA lawsuit alleges that the ELD rule is arbitrary and capricious and violates the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution banning unreasonable search and seizures by the government. The ELD rule was published in December 2015 and requires motor carriers to equip trucks with electronic log book data recorders to record driver hours of service beginning December 18, 2017.
There are a number of exceptions to the ELD mandate including:
- Drivers operating under the 150-air-mile radius short-haul exception from keeping written log books to record hours of service;
- Drivers who occasionally keep a logbook but do not do so for more than eight days in any 30-day period; and
- Model year 1999 and older trucks.
PMAA has consistently opposed the ELD mandate since it was first proposed.
OOIDA says it's "extremely disappointed that the Supreme Court does not see the merit in reviewing our case with so many questions about its constitutionality." ATA concurs with the Supreme Court's decision. "We are pleased to see that the Supreme Court will not interfere with the implementation of this important, and Congressionally mandated, safety rule. We will continue to support FMCSA as they work toward the December deadline for electronic logging devices and urge them to provide certainty to the industry about when and how to comply with this rule by continuing to move toward implementing this regulation on schedule."
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PMAA URGES TREASURY TO WITHDRAW ESTATE TAX REGULATIONS
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This week, PMAA and other members of the Family Business Estate Tax Coalition (FBETC) sent a
letter to Treasury and to the IRS seeking formal withdrawal of Proposed Regulations on "Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Transfer Taxes; Restrictions on Liquidation of an Interest," (August 4, 2016).
The request is pursuant to Executive Order 13789 which calls on Treasury to review all significant tax regulations issued on or after January 1, 2016, that "impose an undue financial burden on United States taxpayers; add undue complexity to the Federal tax laws; or exceed the statutory authority of the Internal Revenue Service." Further, President Trump's Executive Order 13790 creates a task force to identify regulatory changes that "promote the preservation of family farms and other agribusiness operations as they are passed from one generation to the next, including changes to the estate tax and the tax valuation of family or cooperatively held businesses."
The Coalition strongly opposes the proposal to deny family-owned businesses ordinary valuation discounts for lack of control and lack of marketability when calculating gift and estate tax liability. The proposed regulations will discourage families from continuing to operate and build their family businesses and pass them on to future generations. The estate tax regulations meet all the criteria outlined in Executive Orders 13789 and 13790, and should therefore be withdrawn.
PMAA will continue support efforts to ensure that small businesses are not unnecessarily harmed by burdensome proposed regulations.
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Yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce Environment Subcommittee passed H.R. 806, known as the "Ozone Standards Implementation Act," along party lines. The bill would ask the EPA to update its standards for ozone pollution every 10 years rather than every 5 years, the timeline currently set by federal law. Republicans argued that the bill will make it easier for cities and localities to come into compliance with federal ozone limits.
PMAA supports this legislation because it provides a common-sense approach for implementing national ambient air quality standards, recognizes ongoing state efforts to improve air quality through a reasonable implementation schedule for the 2015 ozone standards, streamlines the air permitting process for businesses to expand operations and create jobs, and includes other reforms that bring more regulatory certainty to federal air quality standards. The bill would avert the spread of more RFG and lower RVP motor fuels from hitting the market. Last year, PMAA joined over 200 associations, companies and state groups in a letter of support for this legislation. The bill now heads to the House floor for a full vote.
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NACS SHOW IN CHICAGO OCTOBER 17-20, 2017
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Learn All About the NACS Show
NACS has held an annual meeting since it was founded in 1961. These first meetings were called "annual meetings," as opposed to today's "NACS Show." It wasn't until 1976 that the meeting even included a true exhibition. While NACS continued to hold annual meetings, the expo was part of the event only every two or three years. View the
first ever invitation to the Show from the 1960s.
From 1986 on, the annual meeting included an expo, although those early years featured a greatly scaled-down expo every other year until the early 1990s. In 1993, the annual meeting became the NACS Show. The Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA) has held its Fall Meeting as part of the NACS Show since in 1995 and the Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI) has held its annual meeting as part of the NACS Show since in 2002. Today, the NACS Show is rotated between three cities: Chicago, Las Vegas and Atlanta.
As convenience and fuel retailing's premier industry event, the NACS Show attracts more than 23,500 industry stakeholders from around the world. The NACS Show is about networking and connecting with industry peers and experts facing the same challenges as you and solving them together. In 2016, attendees came from all 50 US states and 67 foreign countries.
More than 1,248 exhibiting companies showcased their products at the sold out 2016 NACS Show. View the
exhibitor directory to see the full list of 2017 exhibitors.
Technology is rapidly changing the way convenience and fuel retailers operate their business. This new environment requires companies - and their IT departments - to stay ahead of the curve to gain a competitive edge. Now in its fourth year, Tech Edge provides industry retailer technology professionals a more personalized and high-value experience of learning, connecting and access to new solutions at the NACS Show. This forward-looking program partners with the industry's standards and technology organization,
Conexxus, to bring more value, deeper education and broader solutions to attendees. Think of it as a specialized program within the NACS Show-for technology professionals.
Registration for the NACS show is opened.
Please note that the NACS Show registration is separate from the PMAA Meeting Registration. PMAA's Fall Meeting will be held on October 16-17 at the Hilton Chicago. Please view information
here.
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Thorough Estate Planning Includes Non-Financial Matters
Estate planning is important for reasons other than financial. Typical planning involves a will, a revocable trust, coordinated titling of assets, naming beneficiaries, financial powers of attorney, and health care directives. Failure to include any of these things can lead to unintended results.
With some simple planning, you have some control over the end of your life and what happens to your assets. You also have the ability to make things easier for your loved ones if they know your wishes. An attorney who specializes in estate planning can help you make these very important decisions.
To learn more about the five factors to consider when planning your estate, please read the article in its entirety
here. 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.
Federated is a PMAA Corporate Platinum Partner.
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PMAA MEMBER SERVICES SPOTLIGHT FEATURING: LABORCHEX
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Hiring Nightmares: Everyone Has Them.
Yes, it can happen to you. And it probably has. You hire people who seemed great on paper and interviewed perfectly. Thinking, "These folks are really going to help us out," they begin work and all seems well.
But a week down the line a couple of police officers show up at your reception desk asking to see an employee. They are holding some papers that look really important. Your receptionist gets you, and the officers explain that your new employee has six active warrants for his arrest. To read the rest of the story and more in its entirety, please view
here.
Please note that the general information provided is not a substitute for legal advice. Please consult with your legal counsel regarding these topics and other general employment questions.
Laborchex, a PMAA Vendor who has been serving clients nationwide since 1991, provides a program of background checks for PMAA members. For more information and to discuss your needs, please review PMAA’s current program or email Steven J. Austin or call at 800.880.0366 x4574.
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Thank You to NPCA's Partners
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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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