April 16, 2021
Indiana Senate Passes "Ban the Ban" Amendments
Progress continues on HB 1191 which would “ban the ban” by prohibiting a city, town or county from banning natural gas or propane hookups in the jurisdiction. This bill is in response to proposed gas bans seen in Berkeley, CA and Ann Arbor, MI. The bill will ensure that homeowners, builders, and business owners have access to balanced energy solutions that are efficient, affordable and clean.

The bill was passed by the Indiana State Senate 33-16. The Senate did make two amendments to the bill which were rejected by the Indiana State House. The bill will need to go to conference where the differences must be agreed to before the bill is finalized. The IPGA is confident the differences will be agreed to and the legislation will be sent to Governor Holcomb prior to the end of the legislative session. 
The Indiana Propane Gas Association is pleased to announce the 2021 Employee Training schedule. IPGA offers certified and non-certified employee training for those employed in the propane industry or looking to obtain propane training certification. To make training more accessible to everyone, classes are held in multiple locations. Classes are open to members and non-members and pre-registration is necessary. Consider sending your employees to this valuable training. Click here to learn more.
Regional Forecast
By Meteorologist John Bagioni, Fax-Alert Weather Service, LLC
In my last update, there was little to no support for an extended period of colder than normal conditions during April across the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. Entering April, the upper-level flow appeared likely to support a mean west to southwest flow across the OH/IN/MI area, which in turned supported the call for warmer than normal conditions to be favored on average.

It appeared any flow change to northwest would be short-lived and not capable of delivering significant or prolonged cold into the region. I did mention there was some potential for the upper flow to bend northwest for short-periods, but the pattern trends and modeling did not look capable of producing an extended period of cold. So, while there was some cool potential, overall, the pattern looked very strongly suggested a warmer than normal month would be the result.

But that is no longer the case. The upper flow pattern is getting ready to lock into to a configuration very favorable for cold air delivery into the Plains, Midwest & Great Lakes areas. Click here for the full report.

Meteorologist John Bagioni | FAX-ALERT WEATHER SERVICE, LLC 
(860) 675-9091 | john@faxalertweather.com
NPGA Appeals ASHRAE 62.2 Action
The NPGA, along with several other appellants, appeared before an American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers’ (ASHRAE) appeals panel to deliver arguments on why the actions taken to publish Addendum “A” to the Standard 62.2 Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Residential Buildings, were in violation of ASHRAE’s own standards development procedures. Due to the severe sizing restriction that this addendum would implement, it would effectively ban the installation and use of gas-fired unvented heaters as a safe and viable supplemental heating option in a 62.2 compliant residential dwelling.

NPGA’s appeal was made in concert with several other organizations that have worked together to defend the use of gas-fired unvented heaters that comply with national safety standards and that are installed in accordance with national fuel gas codes. Recall that this same issue was successfully appealed by NPGA in late 2018. The appeals submitted by NPGA and others were based solely on procedural violations and could not address the technical content of the proposed addendum, although that is certainly a contentious issue as well. NPGA’s appeal raised several instances of clear violations of ASHRAE’s development procedures.

The primary concern from the opponents to the use of these heaters directly relates to the level of products of combustion that may be released into the living space. However, there is little recognition by the 62.2 Standards Committee that the safety standard (ANSI Z21.11.2) already includes limitations on the maximum allowable nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide emissions that can be emitted by the heater. In fact, the 62.2 Committee has not produced any evidence that modern heaters that have been properly installed and used are actually creating an unsafe condition. NPGA has maintained that if there are concerns that the current allowable emissions are too high then the proper venue for proposing to reduce those limits is in the safety standard and not by implementing erroneous sizing restrictions in other standards that would ban the product.

The results of NPGA’s appeal and those of the others will be known in the coming weeks. For further information, please contact Bruce Swiecicki.
Join us June 23-25 as we return to the beautiful and historic French Lick Resort. The IPGA Convention will fast become a can’t-miss tradition offering valuable and timely propane-focused education as well as opportunities to network with industry colleagues and friends.

IPGA is asking for your help to make this special event a success. We are offering a variety of sponsorship opportunities for you to showcase your company. Click here to learn more.
Lawmakers Override Gov. Holcomb's Veto on Emergency Powers Bill
Both houses of the Indiana legislature voted Thursday to override Gov. Eric Holcomb’s veto of a bill that would allow legislative leaders to call the Indiana General Assembly back into session to deal with an emergency.

The Republican-dominated House and Senate easily achieved the simple majorities in each body that they needed to turn aside GOP Gov. Eric Holcomb’s objections and enact the provisions into law immediately.

The measure establishes a new process under which legislative leaders can call the General Assembly into an emergency session outside of its annual legislative session. Governor Holcomb has called the bill unconstitutional and raised the possibility of a court challenge. 
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