April 30, 2021
Washington Legislature Adjourns for 2021 Session
The Legislature adjourned the 2021 Regular Legislative Session on Sunday, April 25, just hours before the deadline set by the State Constitution. Prior to adjournment, the Legislature approved a $59 billion operating budget for the next two years and a new transportation budget. The House and Senate also approved some controversial and sharply-divided measures on the last day of the 2021 Legislative Session, including a new Capital Gains Tax, a Cap and Trade program intended to address greenhouse gas emissions, and a bill establishing low carbon fuel standards. 
 
High profile bills that did not pass include a package of transportation projects, a controversial data privacy bill, a carbon tax plan, and various tax proposals aimed at funding public health. 
 
For bills that are delivered to the Governor more than five days before the adjournment of the Legislative Session, the Governor has five days, excluding Sundays, to take action. Bills that are delivered to the Governor fewer than five days before the Legislature adjourns have 20 days, excluding Sundays, to be acted on by the Governor. Thus, May 18 is the last day for Governor Inslee to take action on bills that have been passed during the 2021 Regular Session. Because there is no “pocket veto” in Washington State, if the Governor fails to take action on a measure, it becomes effective without the Governor’s signature. Unless otherwise specified, measures passed by the Legislature become effective 90 days after the close of the session—July 25, 2021. 
 
The PPGA was able to get an amendment included in the cap and trade legislation. While this amendment will not likely mitigate the fuel cost increases we will see with the legislation it will hopefully help defer these costs to our residential customers. Our hope will be we can mitigate fuel increases for residential customers to avoid fuel switching especially to electricity—which has similar language in the legislation. The amendment is below.
 
NEW SECTION. Sec. 47. RESIDENTIAL HEATING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
  1. The legislature intends by this section to establish policies to mitigate the cost burden of the program established by this act on consumers who use home heating fuels that are not electricity or natural gas. 
  2. The department, in collaboration with interested stakeholders, shall develop a proposal for assisting households that, for residential home heating, use fuels that are not electricity or natural gas. The proposal must give priority to assisting low-income households through weatherization, conservation and efficiency services, and bill assistance. 
  3. In the event the department, in collaboration with interested stakeholders, determines that the proposal developed pursuant to subsection (2) of this section requires legislative action, the department shall submit its recommendations for proposed legislation to the appropriate committees of the legislature no later than September 15, 2022.
West/Pacific/Rocky Mountain Region Meeting
Join your colleagues and PERC staff for the 2021 West/Pacific/Rocky Mountain region meeting. PERC staff will lead a discussion on PERC's key priorities. Additionally, marketers will discuss with PERC what works for them and any unique challenges or opportunities they face in the marketplace. 
PPGA 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.
Autogas Refueling Corridors Designated in Oregon and Washington 
On April 22, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) completed its Round 5 corridor designations under the Alternative Fuel Corridors program, which seeks to build out a national network of refueling corridors for alternative fuels, including propane. 
 
In Oregon, FHWA designated one Corridor-Ready highway segment and one Corridor-Pending segment.  

Round 5 Corridor Designations 
Corridor-Ready 
  • I-5: Between the OR/WA border and Eugene 
Corridor-Pending 
  • I-5: Between Eugene and the OR/CA border 

In Washington, FHWA designated three Corridor-Ready highway segments and three Corridor-Pending segments.  

Round 5 Corridor Designations 
Corridor-Ready 
  • I-5: Between Burlington and the WA/OR border 
  • I-82: Between Yakima and Sunnyside  
  • US-101: Between Olympia and Sequim 
 
Corridor-Pending 
  • I-5: Burlington and WA/Canada border 
  • I-82: Between the I-82/I-90 interchange in Ellensburg and Yakima; and between Sunnyside and the WA/OR border  
  • I-90: Between Seattle and the WA/ID border 
 
The Corridor-Ready segments are now positioned to receive highway signage, informing drivers that they are traveling along a designated autogas refueling route. In addition, both the designation of the Corridor-Ready and Corridor-Pending segments will better allow companies to take full advantage of federal grant money, which NPGA is currently lobbying to secure, for the deployment of more autogas refueling infrastructure, as some of it would likely be sited along these federally-designated corridors. Taken together, these efforts will help expand the use of autogas beyond primarily roads fleets to more passenger and commercial vehicles.
Complete the Annual Retail Propane Sales Report by May 31
PERC is partnering with Frost & Sullivan to conduct our annual retail propane sales report. All propane retailers were sent an email invitation from Rachel Greenberg, PERC’s Senior Market Research Analyst, with a unique link to complete their company’s report.

If you are unsure who at your company received the invitation or if you did not receive it, please contact Rachel Greenberg, at 202-452-8975. Please submit your report today!  

Why is it Important? 
Ensure your state receives an accurate amount of state rebate funding from PERC. 
Fund successful projects in your state that support your business operations and growth. 
Study market trends in your state, region, and country to support your business. 

The final report is shared on propane.com and incorporated in to the National and State Propane Profiles, showing market trends by state and region. 
Save the date for the PPGA Annual Conference and WPGA Chairwoman's Board Meeting, October 27-29, 2021. Accommodations are available at Kauai Beach Resort. Kauai Beach Resort is offering special rates of $229 for Mountain/Garden view rooms and $259 for Pool/Ocean view rooms for conference guests. To ensure this rate, please reserve your room before September 27, 2021 by calling 808-245-1955 and mention PPGA or Reserve Online. When reserving online, select the “View More Rooms” dropdown button at the bottom of the page to view all available rooms. Please be aware that these discounted rooms are limited so reserve yours early.
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The information contained herein is provided as a service by the Pacific Propane Gas Association (PPGA) for the purpose of education, communication, and information and PPGA accepts no liability relative to the contents, accuracy or use of these services. Nothing in this publication is intended to be construed as legal advice. The user is strictly cautioned to seek legal assistance when attempting to determine any legal rights, responsibilities and procedures with respect to business affairs, coding, or other legal aspects of operating a propane company. PPGA disclaims any and all liability for injury and/or other damages which result to a user from the material offered or discussed herein.