W-2s & 1099s Due By January 31, 2023, to Employees & Contractors

White House Does Not Support Gas Stove Ban

Last week, the White House came under fire when news outlets reported that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) was considering a ban on gas stoves. The story broke after Biden appointee, CSPC Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr, spoke about gas stove emission concerns and told one news outlet that "any option is on the table" as the CSPC develops regulations that would make the products safer. "Products that can't be made safe can be banned," Trumka had stated to one news outlet spurring rumors of a national gas stove ban.

AP news and other news outlets, Fox Business, CNN, and others reported that the White House stated President Joe Biden would not support a ban on gas stoves at a press briefing last week.

AP news also provided the following statement from Commission Trumka, "To be clear, CPSC isn't coming for anyone's gas stoves."

Although the White House has no plans for a national gas stove ban, the New York Times, NPR, the Washington Post, and others have recently published articles raising concerns over gas stoves.

The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) has created a series of shareable videos debunking gas cooking myths, including indoor air quality.

Photo compliments of the Texas Department of Agriculture, Commissioner with LPG prover

Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) Clarifies LPG Meter Rules

Over the last couple of months, the Texas Department of Agriculture has been updating several of its rules to provide clarifying amendments.

Late last month, the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) proposed changes to Chapter 12 of their rules to clarify that not just scales but also LPG meters are subject to the requirement to every 4 years have the meters tested and inspected by a licensed service company. This requirement has been in state law but not reflected in the rules.

While meter and scale testing and inspection are only required every 4 years, annual registration will still be required for LPG meters and scales. Rates will remain the same, $65 per LPG meter and $35 per scale. 

In this new round of rule changes, TDA updates language to reflect current reporting requirements, namely that service companies file inspection reports with the Department within 10 days of placing these devices back into service rather than device operators within 30 days.

The earliest possible date of adoption is January 22, 2023.

NPGA Advances National Weights & Measures Proposals

Speaking of weights and measures, last week, the National Conference on Weights & Measures (NCWM) held its Interim Meeting. Two proposals that will impact propane dispenser operations were discussed. LPG-23.1 addresses the need to exempt analog/mechanical dispenser metering systems from having to retrofit an automatic zero-setback function. LPG-23.2 would increase the time from 3 to 5 minutes of no flow before the automatic shutdown of a truck-mounted delivery system would occur. Both proposals advanced to a critical stage, setting up for approval by final vote at the upcoming July meeting. In addition, LPG-15.1 was included on the docket for approval at the July meeting. LPG-15.1 would achieve a longtime goal of the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA), allowing the use of a “master meter” to verify the accuracy of industry stationery and truck-mounted meters instead of the volumetric prover that is currently required.

For more information, NPGA asks that you please contact NPGA Chief Technical Officer Bruce Swiecicki at bswiecicki@npga.org.

Source: NPGA Bobtail