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SENATE ENERGY COMMITTEE APPROVES KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE
The Keystone XL pipeline debate continues as the Senate
Energy Committee approved the pipeline largely along party
lines on Wednesday by a vote of 12 - 10. Newly installed
Senate Energy Committee Chairwoman Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
introduced the pipeline approval bill along with Senator
John Hoeven (R-ND). Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Landrieu
were the only Democrats on the Committee who supported the
bill. Prospects for the bill to get to the Senate floor and
final passage are slim given there are 58 confirmed yes
votes in the Senate which is short of the 60 votes needed
for passage. If President Obama were to veto the
legislation, Keystone proponents would need 67 votes to
override the President. It is likely the only way forward is
for the President to approve the pipeline.
Earlier this year, the President delayed a decision on the
pipeline indefinitely pending State Department approval
which means a decision isn’t likely until after the November
elections. The Keystone XL pipeline enjoys overwhelming
support from Americans, with 65 percent saying it should be
approved and 22 percent opposed, according to a Washington
Post-ABC News poll.
NEW FMCSA POLICY GIVES MARKETERS MORE CONTROL OVER DATA USED FOR SAFETY RATINGS
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA) has issued an Interpretative Rule and
Statement of Policy that makes it possible for motor
carriers to remove negative information from a key federal
database used to determine motor carrier safety ratings. As
a result, motor carriers will have more control over the
information used to determine their FMCSA safety rating
score.
The new policy changes the federal Motor
Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) by giving
state agencies the ability to update motor carrier safety
information to reflect adjudicated citations related to
roadside inspection violations. Prior to the policy change,
motor carrier violations resulting from roadside inspections
were sent to the MCMIS database without any ability to
update the information after a court had a chance to review
and rule on the underlying citation. Consequently, the motor
carrier’s MCMIS safety record would continue to list a
“violation” even after a court dismissed the citation or
found the carrier innocent.
The new FMCSA policy
will be applied only to citations issued at roadside
inspections beginning August 23, 2014. There is no
retroactive applicability to existing citations. In
addition, updates to reflect adjudicated results will not
occur automatically. Instead, motor carriers will be
required to electronically submit proof of adjudication
through the FMCSA’s DataQ’s data portal. The documents will
be reviewed by the applicable state motor carrier agency for
authenticity and posted on MCMIS.
A PMAA Regulatory
Report on the new policy change is being prepared by Mark
Morgan, PMAA Regulatory Counsel.
SENATORS PROPOSE 12 CENT MOTOR FUELS TAX INCREASE
On Wednesday,
Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Bob Corker (R-TN) proposed
a 12 cent-per-gallon (cpg) tax increase for both gasoline
and diesel fuel over the next two years and indexing to
inflation in order to replenish the Highway Trust Fund
(HFT). It is expected to raise $164 billion over 10 years.
Although lead transportation chairs Senator Barbara Boxer
(D-CA) and Representative Bill Shuster (R-PA) have said
there are not enough votes to pass a gas tax increase this
year, the Murphy-Corker proposal might serve as a bipartisan
starting point for highway funding negotiations next year.
Since 2008, Congress has transferred $54 billion
into the Highway Trust Fund, mostly from the General Fund,
to maintain solvency. Congress has looked at other
alternatives to improve the HFT including a user fee based
on the number of miles driven (VMT), however, this proposal
has been unable to gain momentum. The motor fuels tax hasn’t
been raised since 1993. It is likely that Congress will
provide for a short-term fix to the HFT. Proposals include
using savings from cutting Saturday postal delivery, using
revenue from a tax holiday on repatriated earnings as well
as transferring the remaining $1.4 billion in the LUST fund
which PMAA and like-minded associations adamantly oppose.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR)
and Ranking Member Hatch (R-UT) hope to have a proposal out
of Committee before the July 4th recess.
PMAA PARTNER SPOTLIGHT INTRODUCING: ASPECT ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS
Introducing a New Partner Member:
Aspect Enterprise Solutions: CTRM For Fuel Marketers
Retailers, Hypermarketers, Jobbers
The Officers, Executive Committee, and PMAA staff are
pleased to welcome Aspect Enterprise Solutions as a new PMAA
National Partner.
Many Fuel Marketers are challenged
with managing multiple spreadsheets with physical trades in
one sheet, operational data in another, and paper hedges in
yet another. This juggling act of managing truck loads,
terminal locations, pipeline movement and trading activity
creates a lack of transparency and inability to accurately
consolidate various data points which results in costly
mistakes.
This common practice creates serious
operational risks. Marketers are unable to see net
positions, profits and losses, inventory changes, and
ultimately exposure. Marketers know spreadsheets are not the
answer – but the costs and risks associated with
implementing traditional trading and risk software systems
have been prohibitive for Fuel Marketers until now.
AspectCTRM is the only cloud-based trade, risk and
operations management solution. Fuel Marketers can now
benefit from this leading professional system with an
efficient and cost-effective way to manage streams of
trading and transport activity. Traders, risk managers,
schedulers, procurement and back-office personnel rely on
this comprehensive, affordable solution.
For
additional information, please
visit or contact
Brigette
Gebhard at 1.347.328.0396..
JOIN PMAA AND NACS IN LAS VEGAS
Connections Housing, the official housing agency for the
NACS Show, offers discounted rates exclusively for NACS Show
attendees at select hotels in Las Vegas. The secure online
housing website is available 24/7 and offers real-time
availability with full hotel descriptions, amenities,
distance to the Las Vegas Convention Center, maps and other
information to help make your decision easier. Also,
reservation acknowledgements are emailed to you within
seconds of confirming the reservation.
Author and
journalist David H. Freedman has been announced as the
keynote speaker on Wednesday, October 8, during the Opening
General Session. Freedman is a contributing editor at The
Atlantic and at Inc. Magazine, a contributor to Scientific
American and a consulting editor for Johns Hopkins Medicine
International. He is the author of five books, the most
recent being WRONG, about the problems with the published
findings of medical scientists and other experts. Much of
his current work is related to the roles of policy, industry
and journalism in addressing obesity, nutrition and
health-related behavioral change.
“David passionately
advocates that the food industry — including our industry —
is in a strong position to address the problem of obesity in
this country,” said NACS Vice Chairman of Convention, Jack
Kofdarali, who also is president of J & T Management Company
Inc. in Corona, California. “I look forward to hearing more
about what David has to say on the topic of food and
nutrition, how our industry can continue to be part of the
solution and to proactively address misperceptions and
better tell our story.”
In addition to online
registration and housing, the
NACS Show website features the latest information about
exhibitors, housing, speakers, educational sessions and
networking events. Please note that the NACS Show
registration is separate from the PMAA Meeting Registration.
NACS Supersaver Discount, a savings of up to 50 percent,
ends today, June 20!
The Petroleum Marketers
Association of America (PMAA) has held its Fall Meeting as
part of the NACS Show since 1995. PMAA’s Fall Meeting will
be held on October 6-7 at LVH – Las Vegas Hotel & Casino.
Please view information
here.
PMAA MEMBER SERVICES SPOTLIGHT FEATURING: FEDERATED INSURANCE
We wanted to
remind you that one of Federated ‘s main initiatives for
2014 includes Federated Employment Practices Network (FEPN).
With FEPN, our clients who have Employment Related
Practices Liability will have access to the
following complimentary services:
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Unlimited
on-line or toll-free direct access to employment law
attorneys. They will be able to receive confidential,
documented responses pertaining to more than 50 different
Human Resources / Employment Law risk management and
compliance issues and receive and answer no later than the
next business day.
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An on-line
employee handbook building tool designed to help document
employment practices. This tool can be used to build a
complete handbook or simply pull individual documents to
add to their existing policy.
-
Customizable
HR risk management resources, including federal- and
state-specific forms and poster.
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HR Express
Updates including:
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Unlimited
access to online sexual harassment and discrimination
prevention training for supervisors and harassment
prevention training for employees targeted to promote a
respectful, productive work environment and minimize risk
to harassment claims.
For additional
information or to discuss adding ERPL to your existing
insurance coverage with Federated, please contact your
Federated regional representative or PMAA’s newly-assigned
National Account Executive
Jerry Leemkuil at
800.533.0472. If you are a current ERPL client,
please visit to download your complimentary resources.
SUMMERTIME IS MORE FUN WITH THE PMAA COOKBOOK!
Are you looking for things to read and activities to engage
in this Summer? The PMAA PAC official cookbook makes for
great Summertime reading and family fun for all. Use a
recipe at the next family cookout! Contribute to the PMAA
Small Business Committee (SBC) PAC and have fun at the same
time. Buy many copies and give them to your friends so they
can have fun too. Please contact
Sabrina Pitcher if
you would like to
order the PMAA Cookbook.
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