Multi-State Hours of Service Waiver Extended Due to Winter Storms
On Thursday, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA) extended a regional Hours
of Service waiver for the following states due
to winter storms: KENTUCKY, LOUISIANA,
OKLAHOMA, TEXAS, VIRGINIA, AND WEST VIRGINIA through March 19th.
The emergency declaration applies to all
states and jurisdictions listed above. This
waiver covers all fuel deliveries (heating
fuels, including propane, natural gas, and
heating oil, and other fuel products, including
gasoline) in the states and jurisdictions listed
because they support the "emergency," which in
this case is maintaining adequate fuel
distribution in those areas.
Important:
The FMCSA waiver covers
interstate shipment of fuel in and out of the
states and jurisdictions listed in the waiver
letter. The FMCSA waiver does not cover
intrastate only shipments (deliveries that stay
within the boundaries of a single state). State
governors must issue waivers for intrastate
shipments within their boundaries. State
Governors typically issue such waivers as part
of their Emergency Declaration, or when FMCSA
waivers are put into effect. Most of these
states have already issued intrastate HOS
waivers. Click
here to read the notice.
The Energy Marketers of America will continue to
work closely with the FMCSA, DOE, DHS/FEMA and
other federal agencies to ensure emergency
preparedness and response waivers and solutions
to problems that arise in response to the recent
winter storms.
Congressional Update
Late Thursday, Senate Democrats released their
version of the COVID-relief package, the
American Rescue Plan Act. The Senate will
consider additional amendments Friday afternoon
with a final vote expected Saturday. Most, if
not all, Senate Republicans are expected to join
their House counterparts in voting against the
package. Nonetheless, so long as all 50
Democratic Senators vote for the package, Vice
President Kamala Harris will serve as the 51st
tie-breaking vote. After Senate passage, the
House will approve the changes and send the bill
to President Biden, who could sign it into law
early next week.
Key provisions of the
package include:
-
Direct payments worth up
to $1,400 per person.
-
Extension of the Pandemic
Unemployment Assistance program and Pandemic
Emergency Unemployment Compensation
programs.
-
Extension of the 15
percent increase in food stamp benefits
through September, instead of allowing it to
expire at the end of June.
-
$880 million for the
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
-
Extension of the employee
retention tax credit through December 31,
2021.
-
Extension of tax credits
for employer-provided paid sick and family
leave through September 30th.
-
$4.5 billion for LIHEAP.
-
$19.1 billion to state
and local governments to help low-income
households cover back rent and utility
bills.
-
Expansion of the child
tax credit to $3,600 for children under 6
and $3,000 for children under age 18.
-
$15 billion to the
Emergency Injury Disaster Loan program.
-
An additional $7 billion
for the Paycheck Protection Program.
-
$350 billion to state and
local governments, as well as tribes and
territories.
On the infrastructure front,
this week President Biden spoke with bipartisan
members of the House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee. The Biden
Administration has made it clear that than an
infrastructure / highway / clean energy jobs
package will be the President’s second major
priority after passing the COVID-package. While
both parties see infrastructure as a key
priority, Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), the top
Republican on the House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee, urged the Biden
Administration to focus exclusively on bridges
and roads and not clean energy initiatives.
A key question for lawmakers is how to pay
for an infrastructure package. House
Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Peter
DeFazio (R-OR) believes that an infrastructure
package should not go through budget
reconciliation due to the restrictions on what
types of projects and programs could be funded.
Importantly, Congress recently announced a plan
to return to earmarks, formally known as
congressionally directed spending. Earmarks
allow Members of Congress to direct funding to
certain projects in their districts and can be
used as carrots and sticks for securing votes on
key pieces of legislation. Chairman DeFazio is
working with members of the Committee on an
earmark process for the next surface
transportation bill.
House Energy and Commerce Democrats Introduce Climate Change Bill
This week, House democrats reintroduced an
expanded version of the “Climate Leadership and
Environmental Action for our Nation’s (CLEAN)
Future Act,” to reach zero carbon emissions in
the areas of power, buildings and efficiency,
transportation, and industrial sectors.
Among the most significant plans, the proposal
calls for:
-
Electricity suppliers to
provide an increasing supply of clean energy
to consumers starting in 2023, rising to 80
percent clean energy by 2030 and 100 percent
by 2035
-
A mandate for
zero-energy-ready buildings by 2030.
-
Directives to states and
federal agencies to develop and implement
individual plans to meet the 2050 net-zero
emissions target.
-
New stringent vehicle
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards
alongside incentives to shift to low- and
zero-carbon transportation fuels.
-
A "Buy Clean" Program
setting performance standards to reduce
emissions in construction and manufacturing
supported by federal funding alongside
incentives for use of low-carbon materials;
and
-
A National Climate Bank
to finance the energy transition through
loans, grants and other mechanisms,
particularly for frontline, rural,
low-income and communities experiencing
environmental injustice.
-
A reauthorization of the
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program
(LIHEAP) through FY 2030 as well as the
Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP)
through FY 2030.
Many environmentalist groups
who said last year’s bill did not go far enough
since it did not call for a ban on fracking and
all new fossil fuel infrastructure embraced the
new version. The legislation is likely to pass a
Democratically controlled House, however, it
will face hurdles in the 50-50 Senate where
Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) has been skeptical of
proposed clean electricity requirements. Three
GOP members of the Energy and Commerce Committee
issued a joint statement on Tuesday opposing the
legislation. "Just like President Joe Biden’s
executive orders, this rush to green with
one-size-fits all regulations will force
California’s failed policies on the rest of the
country," said Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers
(R-WA), Fred Upton (R-MI) and David McKinley
(R-WV)).
“We can pursue practical
policies to innovate a cleaner energy future if
we work together," they added. "We urge the
Majority to join us in a bipartisan way to
unleash innovation, strengthen our supply
chains, and capture all the advantages of our
abundant resources, which include coal,
hydropower, nuclear technologies, and clean
natural gas."
New Gas Stations Targeted by Activists
This week, the City of Petaluma in California
has voted to ban new gas stations (in this case
a Safeway Supermarket) and current stations will
not be allowed to add new pumps according to a
story by Axios. Behind the effort to ban new gas
stations is an environmental group called
Stand.earth which ran a campaign called SAFE
(stand against fossil fuel expansion). "The
problem with allowing new gas stations is we
don't really need them and they’re putting
existing gas stations out of business,” said
Matt Krogh, who heads Stand.earth.
Click
here to read the story.
Healthy Workplaces Tax Credit Act Re-Introduced
On Tuesday, Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and
Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) reintroduced the
bipartisan Healthy Workplaces Tax Credit Act to
help all businesses continue to safely stay open
during the COVID-19 pandemic while ensuring the
safety of employees and consumers. The bill
would allow a refundable tax credit against
payroll taxes for 50 percent of the costs
incurred by a business for increased testing,
personal protective equipment (PPE),
disinfecting, extra cleaning, reconfiguring
workspaces to adhere to social distancing
guidelines and training and education on the on
the prevention of COVID-19 transmission. U.S.
Representatives Tom Rice (R-SC) and Stephanie
Murphy (D-FL) plan to introduce this legislation
in the House of Representatives.
“Energy
Marketers of America members have been following
all guidance for safely operating their
businesses and will continue to do so and the
Healthy Workplaces Tax Credit Act will help to
defray some of the costs. EMA strongly supports
this legislation,” said EMA Vice President
Sherri Stone.
Click
here for more details.
API Considers Support to Put a Price on Carbon Emissions
This week, it was reported that the America
Petroleum Institute (API) is considering
supporting a market-based carbon pricing policy
according to a Reuters report this week. API did
not give specifics on whether or when the group
would formally endorse a price on carbon but
said it has been “focused on supporting a new
U.S. contribution to the global Paris
agreement,” said API spokeswoman Megan
Bloomgren. Click
here to read more.
Meanwhile, the
Biden Administration’s move to the electrify the
transportation sector will likely run into
hurdles between conservation vs green energy.
Biden has vowed to set aside at least 30 percent
of federal land and coastal areas for
conservation, triple current levels. However, to
grow the EV battery market, it will need those
areas to mine lithium and other minerals,
thereby, putting two environmental
constituencies at odds. Unless the Biden
Administration changes course, the future of
mining will likely depend on China to mine rare
minerals even though the Administration has
called the reliance on China as a national
security threat. Click
here for the story.
February 2021 EMA Small Business Committee (SBC) PAC Contributions
PAC Co-Chairs Brad Bell and Tim Keigher are
grateful for the Energy Marketers of America
Small Business Committee (SBC) PAC contributions
from the following individuals during the
February 1-28, 2021 time frame:
California: Michael Downs
Connecticut: Chris Herb
Kansas: Alison Leiszler Bridges, Chad
Kramer, Patrick Lingg Missouri:
Scott Blank, Paul Cox, Steven Madras, Donavan
Stucky North Carolina:
Dallas Campbell, Larry Jordan, John Strickland
Federated Insurance Employment Practice Network Webinar
Avoiding Harassment, Discrimination, and
Retaliation Claims: Tuesday, March 16, 2021,
1:00 p.m. CT
In this webinar, we will
cover simple steps employers can take today to
reduce the risk of employee claims of
harassment, discrimination and retaliation. We
will discuss some typical claims we are seeing
today, and what simple steps can defeat them.
The key takeaways for this presentation will be
practical suggestions your organization can put
into practice without additional expense. We’ll
end the webinar with live questions and a short
list of resources which are available to you
through mySHIELD.
Advanced registration
is required for this 1-hour webinar.
For
additional information or to discuss this in
further detail, please contact your
Federated
regional representative or EMA’s National
Account Executive
Jon Medo at 800.533.0472.
Federated is a EMA Corporate Platinum Partner.
EMA MDF Contributors for February 2021
Energy Marketers of America’s Marketer Defense
Fund wants to thank the following individuals
for their contributions during the February 1-
28 timeframe:
Arkansas:
Steve Turner Florida:
Florida Petroleum Marketers Association, Inc.
Minnesota: Brent Staples
Mississippi: Walton Gresham III
Missouri: Steve Ayers
Oklahoma: Oklahoma Petroleum
Marketers & Convenience Store Association
South Carolina: Matthew Greene
Tennessee: Tennessee Fuel &
Convenience Store Association, Tommy Hunt
Virginia: James Emmart
Wisconsin: Jonathan Crawford
Corporate donations are acceptable. MDF
funds have been used to create a COVID-19
Situational Update & Resources webpage, to hire
experts to cover important regulatory agencies
and disaster relief dedicated to strengthening
our lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill. Click
here to donate to the EMA MDF.
Federated Insurance Employment Practices Network HR Question of the Month
Which Applies – FFCRA or Expanded Family and
Medical Leave?
Federated Insurance’s HR
Question of the Month focuses on
employment-related practices liability issues.
This month’s question is: Can we provide
emergency paid sick leave under the FFCRA but
not the expanded family and medical leave?
Please click
here to read the response.
For
additional information or to discuss this in
further detail, please contact your
Federated
regional representative or EMA’s National
Account Executive
Jon Medo at 800.533.0472.
Federated is a EMA Corporate Platinum Partner.
This article is for
general information and risk prevention only and
should not be considered legal or other expert
advice. The recommendations herein may help
reduce, but are not guaranteed to eliminate, any
or all risk of loss. The information herein may
be subject to, and is not a substitute for, any
laws or regulations that may apply. Qualified
counsel should be sought with questions specific
to your circumstances. © 2021 Federated Mutual
Insurance Company.
EMA Corporate Partner Spotlight Featuring: Renewable Energy Group, Inc. and National Biodiesel Board
Top 3 Takeaways from the 2021 National Biodiesel
Conference
Six weeks ago, Renewable
Energy Group (REG) was proud to sponsor and
participate in the first ever virtual National
Biodiesel Conference & Expo. REG has been
involved in the National Biodiesel Board’s
annual event since it was first held in Palm
Springs, California in 2004, so it was somewhat
surreal to "attend" the conference without
leaving our home-offices. However, we were
excited to see it all come together virtually,
and we look forward to being able to participate
in-person once again in 2022.
We
understand that some fuel dealers may not have
been able to take time away from the busy
heating season to attend the virtual National
Biodiesel Conference & Expo. Likewise, some may
have only attended a few of the many sessions
held online January 18-21. With this in mind, we
have compiled an
event recap featuring what we see as our top takeaways for
Bioheat® fuel dealers and REG blending partners.
For additional information about
Renewable Energy Group, Inc., please
visit or
contact Scott Nemec.
Renewable Energy Group is a
EMA Corporate Platinum Partner. For additional
information about National Biodiesel Board,
please
visit.
National Biodiesel Board is a EMA
Corporate Gold Partner.
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