OPMCA Connection
Keeping You Informed!


OPMCA Connection keeps you informed and current on regulations from all state and national agencies as well as laws pertaining to the petroleum marketing/c-store industry.
OPMCA STAFF

Candace McGinnis
Executive Director  

Hannah Fite
Director of Member Services  

OPMCA  
6420 N. Santa Fe, Suite B
Oklahoma City, OK 73116
Phone: (405) 842-6625 
(800) 256-5013 
Fax: (405) 842-9562
2019-2020 Board of Directors

Jerry Davidson, Chairman  
 Pete's Corporation

Tommy Shreffler
OnCue Marketing, LLC

Teresa Hollenbeck
Red Rock Distributing Company

Kurtis Hutchinson
Hutchinson Oil Company

Jason Flinn
Flowers Oil Company

Rob Toth
Coffeyville Resource
2020 OPMCA Annual Business Meeting
Virtual Meeting via Zoom
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
11am-12 pm
Please join us for the 2020 OPMCA Annual Business Meeting held on Wednesday, June 24, 2020 at 11 am. Due to the current circumstance, we will be holding the Annual Business Meeting virtually via Zoom! Once you have registered, you then receive a confirmation email with all of the meeting information. We hope you can join us!
Click Here to View all PMAA Coronavirus Related Resources for Petroleum Marketers Including all Regulatory Reports
Friday, May 29, 2020
  • Second Session of the 57th Oklahoma Legislature Adjourns Sine Die

  • Health emergency to terminate; Stitt may extend state of emergency

  • USDA is Now Accepting Applications for Matching Grants Under the Higher Blend Infrastructure Incentive Program

  • FMCSA Adopts CDL Short-haul Driver Hours of Service Reforms

  • U.S. Small Business Administration Releases Application and Instructions for PPP Loan Forgiveness

  • Groups Urge Congress to Enact Reasonable COVID-19 Liability Protections for Essential Businesses

  • FMCSA Extends National Driver HOS Waiver Through June 14, 2020

  • FDA Provides Best Practices and Checklist for Re-Opening Retail Food Establishments

  • Regulatory Compliance Bulletin Reminder: Annual Hazmat Transportation Registration Renewal Deadline is July 1, 2020

  • CDC Issues Guidelines for Reopening Businesses

  • Mastercard Delays EMV Deadline to April 16, 2021 with Conditions

  • OSHA Updated COVID-19 Guidance

  • DOL Issues Final Rule Clarifying Overtime Rules for Retail and Service Industry Employers

  • Federated Insurance May Educational Articles
Second Session of the 57 th Oklahoma Legislature Adjourns Sine Die
As you likely have heard by now, the 2020 Oklahoma legislative session was not a normal session. There were just over 170 measures that landed on Governor Stitt’s desk. There were 535 measures in 2019 and well below the average of the last several years of over 410.
 
Governor Stitt concluded his consideration of bills on Thursday, May 21 st . The Governor signed 27 House bills and 25 Senate bills while vetoing one House bill and two Senate bills.
 
Lawmakers then returned to the Capitol on Friday, May 22nd to consider overriding several of Governor Stitt's vetoes. In total the legislators chose to override six of the Governor's vetoes on Friday. The Legislature has voted to override 10 of Governor Stitt's 18-plus vetoes this session, the most for any governor in recent history.
 
While several OPMCA bills were not heard this session, due to the COVID 19 pandemic, we are pleased to report that Governor Stitt has signed the following into law:
 
HB 1349 by Rep. Marcus McEntire, R-Duncan and Sen. Bill Coleman, R-Ponca City – allows for the sale of 15-point beer in convenience stores and grocery stores; and
 
SB 1928 by Sen. Roger Thompson, R-Okemah and Rep. Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston – allows for alcoholic beverage curbside sales and delivery.
 
Both bills contain emergency measures. HB 1349 will go into effect on July 1, 2020 and SB 1928 went into effect upon signature of the Governor. 
 
SB 1423 by Sen. Greg McCortney, R-Ada and Rep. Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston – raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21. Oklahoma's statutes now align with the federal Tobacco-Free Youth Act, which was signed by President Donald Trump last December. That law prohibited the sale of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21.
Health emergency to terminate; Stitt may extend state of emergency
Gov. Kevin Stitt's catastrophic health emergency executive order expires Saturday but his state of emergency order will continue at least 12 more days beyond that, possibly longer, according to his office.
Stitt's declaration of a catastrophic health emergency required the affirmation of the Legislature in special session. His initial declaration was affirmed April 6 in HCR1001XBill is active, and its extension was affirmed May 4 in SCR0001XBill is active. SCR0002XBill is active terminates the health emergency Saturday and adjourns the special session.
 
Under the health emergency declaration, Stitt had additional powers, including the ability to suspend some state statutes and administrative rules. As a condition of its affirmation of the health emergency's extension, the Legislature sought a report from Stitt on the authority he had utilized thus far.
 
In a May 7 letter to House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, and Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, Stitt said he had used his additional authority under the act to:
 
  • Protect first responders by allowing them to utilize personal health information in the field;
 
  • Waive employment search requirements for citizens applying for unemployment benefits to help clear the backlog of unemployment applications and removed eased restrictions regarding moving personnel within state agencies, allowing hundreds of state employees to be shifted to the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) during the historic spike in unemployment claims;
 
  • Increase the frontline health care workforce by expanding opportunities for nursing students and other medical professional to treat COVID-19 patients by modifying certain occupational licensing requirements;
 
  • Affirm that health care providers and facilities are covered by a state statute giving limited civil immunity for rendering care, aid, shelter or assistance during a natural disaster or catastrophe;
 
  • Allow the State Health Department to control 80 drive-through COVID-19 testing sites run by local health departments to increase testing for the disease in the state; and
 
  • Limit elective surgeries for a period of time to preserve personal protective equipment (PPE), limit exposure to COVID-19 and ensure health care professional were available to provide necessary care during a predicted COVID-19 surge.
 
"The regular state of emergency order is still in effect through June 11," said Baylee Lakey, Stitt's communication's director. "As we enter phase three, some changes may be made to the order, which could extend provisions past June 11."
 
Phase 3 of Stitt's Open Up and Recover Safely (OURS) plan is scheduled to begin Monday. It is the final stage of the plan. In Phase 3, employers can resume unrestricted staffing of worksites, summer camps can open and limited hospital visits may resume if the visitors meet certain health requirements.
 
The phase is contingent upon hospitalization and incident rates remaining at a manageable level statewide for 14 more days.
 
According to the State Department of Health's Weekly Epidemiology and Surveillance Report for May 15 to May 21 , confirmed COVID-19 cases increased by 718 or 13.61 percent over the prior week and stood at 5,680. The department reported Wednesday that total cases now number 6,229, an increase of 549 or 9.66 percent so far this week.
 
Of the specimens tested May 15 to 21, just 2.8 percent tested positive, below the 4.3 percent rate since the pandemic entered Oklahoma, the report shows.
 
Oklahoma's positive tests as a percent of total tests within a 14-day period, one of the federal gating criteria before moving to the next phase of economic reopening, is declining, according to the report.

eCapitol News
Health emergency to terminate; Stitt may extend state of emergency
Author: Shawn Ashley
Date: 05/27/2020
USDA is Now Accepting Applications for Matching Grants Under the Higher Blend Infrastructure Incentive Program
U.S. Deputy of Agriculture (USDA) has launched an online portal to begin accepting applications for Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) grants. The program is designed to expand the availability of higher blends of both ethanol and biodiesel to retail consumers. The USDA is offering up to $100 million in grants to help transportation fueling and biodiesel distribution facilities convert to higher ethanol and biodiesel blends by sharing the costs for installation of compatible fuel dispensers and related underground storage tank equipment and infrastructure. USDA is making grants available for up to 50 percent of total eligible project costs, but not more than $5 million per project. According to the USDA, approximately $86 million is available for implementation activities related to higher blends of fuel ethanol, and approximately $14 million for higher blends of biodiesel. Higher biofuel blends are fuels containing ethanol greater than 10 percent ethanol and greater than 5 percent biodiesel. Eligible recipients include, but are not limited to, vehicle fueling facilities, local fueling stations/locations, convenience stores, hypermarket fueling stations, fleet facilities (cardlocks), fuel terminal operations, midstream partners and/or distribution facilities.
All applications must be filed electronically. The USDA will not accept paper applications. The deadline for submitting electronic applications is August 13, 2020 by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Electronic applications can be found at https://www.rd.usda.gov/hbiip .
For more information or questions contact Mark. S. Morgan, PMAA Regulatory Counsel @ [email protected] .
FMCSA Adopts CDL Short-haul Driver Hours of Service Reforms
The U.S. DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued its long awaited CDL driver of hours of service (HOS) final rule that adopts a number of PMAA’s requests for short-haul driver regulatory relief reform. PMAA initiated the short-haul driver reform effort in 2017 during a meeting with the FMCSA Administrator and his top staff to present regulatory relief proposals important to both motor fuel and heating fuel dealers. Since then, PMAA has work closely with the FMCSA, the FMCSA Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee, the White House Office of Management and Budget as well as key members of Congress providing supporting data, writing comments and arranging meetings in order to win adoption of these important hours of service reforms. The short-haul driver reforms will become effective 120 days after publication of the final rule in the Federal Register.
The final rule adopted the following PMAA reforms for short-haul drivers:

  • Expands the maximum distance short-haul drivers may travel each day without losing their regulatory exception from keeping daily HOS records from 100 air-miles per shift to 150 air-miles.
  • Increases the maximum daily on-duty time for short haul drivers from 12 hours to 14 hours.
  • Extends the maximum daily 11 hour driving window for drivers by two hours during adverse weather conditions and allows drivers (in addition to dispatchers) to determine if the weather conditions exist to trigger the extension.

The distance and time extension reforms are important for motor fuel marketers and heating fuel dealers because they provide short-haul drivers two additional hours of daily on-duty time and 50 additional air-miles of operating range without losing the exception from recording daily hours of service. In addition, the reforms will allow many long-haul drivers employed in the industry that currently travel beyond the 100 air-mile radius from their point of origin but no longer than 150 miles to qualify for short-haul driver status. This means those drivers will no longer be required to use electronic on-board recorders mandated by FMCSA to record HOS, saving their employers significant reoccurring compliance costs. Instead, their HOS can now be demonstrated the same as all short-haul drivers - by timecards and/or other business records and only when requested by the DOT. This will reduce the recordkeeping burden on motor fuel marketers and heating fuel dealers and provide them with more flexibility to schedule drivers while adding a significant number of weekly on-duty hours per company across all drivers.
The adverse weather extension of on-duty time is also important because it provides drivers with two additional hours to wait out hazardous driving conditions before resuming to drive. Under previous adverse weather condition regulations, drivers were allowed two additional hours of driving time but no extra on-duty time. As a result, drivers felt pressure to drive in poor conditions to not run out the daily maximum on-duty clock before they returned to their base of operations.
The final rule did not contain a provision that would allow up to three hours of wait time at terminals to be recorded as off-duty time due to opposition by safety groups. However, PMAA will continue to work for its adoption.

U.S. Small Business Administration Releases Application and Instructions for PPP Loan Forgiveness
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has released the application borrowers must submit to their lenders to qualify for Paycheck Protection Loan (PPP) forgiveness. The application is accompanied by several worksheets and instructional pages that provide clarity on several critical questions facing PPP loan recipients.
Click here to read the full PMAA Today report from last week.
The SBA updated FAQ #46, confirming that “[a]ny borrower that, together with its affiliates, received PPP loans with an original principal amount of less than $2 million will be deemed to have made the required certification concerning the necessity of the loan request in good faith.” According to the SBA, this “is appropriate because borrowers with loans below this threshold are generally less likely to have had access to adequate sources of liquidity in the current economic environment than borrowers that obtained larger loans.” According to some estimates, about half of the approximately 400 PPP loans approved for publicly traded companies were for less than US$2 million.

Groups Urge Congress to Enact Reasonable COVID-19 Liability Protections for Essential Businesses
PMAA joined scores of other national associations including NACS, SIGMA and NATSO in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee leaders urging enactment of legislation to protect essential businesses from COVID-19 claims. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the issue, and it heard from a number of those supporting the effort including NACS Treasurer Kevin Smartt, who is the CEO and president of Kwik Chek Food Stores and member of the Texas Food and Fuel Association. The aim of the legislation is to protect essential businesses from claims by customers and employees who allegedly contracted the disease at the business location or as a result of its operations.
Fuel marketers and other retailers face claims, like the wrongful death claims already asserted against Walmart, that they failed to comply with CDC guidance and other virus mitigation protocols in operating their businesses. They each face millions of dollars in potential liability because they remained open during the pandemic. They fear that despite their unprecedented efforts to require safe practices, like social distancing, wearing masks, and cleaning and disinfecting their business premises, they would face allegations of not going far enough.
PMAA and the other supporters of the legislation noted that businesses that remained open to serve their customers under extremely difficult and challenging circumstances should not be punished for their efforts. Many of these businesses are already facing threats to their survival, they could now face even more exposure from expensive litigation. PMAA will continue to support the coalition’s efforts to lobby Congress as the Committee considers the information gathered at the hearing, and it will provide additional updates as developments unfold.
Please click here to urge your lawmakers for liability protection in a future COVID-19 response bill.

FMCSA Extends National Driver HOS Waiver Through June 14, 2020
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued an updated national emergency declaration to provide an extension of the hours of service (HOS) waiver for commercial drivers transporting fuel and other emergency relief in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The FMCSA waiver was slated to expire May 15, 2020 but has now been expanded to June 14, 2020.
Click here to view the full Compliance Bulletin.

FDA Provides Best Practices and Checklist for Re-Opening Retail Food Establishments
A food safety re-opening checklist as well as best practices for previously closed retail food establishments or those that have been open with limited service related to the COVID-19 pandemic is provided by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The checklist entails guidelines on Facility Operations; Water, Plumbing and Ice; Food Contact and Non-food Contact Surfaces (Clean, Disinfect, Sanitize); Food Temperature Control; Product Inspection, Rotation; Ware washing Equipment; Handwashing Stations; Employee Health / Screening; and Social Distancing.
The FDA called on retail food businesses to partner with local regulatory/health authorities to discuss the specific requirements for their retail food establishment prior to re-opening.
To visit the FDA Best Practices page, click here.

Regulatory Compliance Bulletin Reminder: Annual Hazmat Transportation Registration Renewal Deadline is July 1, 2020
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) requires both hazardous material transporters and those who offer hazardous materials to common carriers for shipment to register and pay a fee each year in return for a certificate of authority to operate in both intrastate and interstate commerce. However, since multiyear registrations are allowed, not all certificates are up for renewal on July 1, 2020. Marketers should look at their registration certificate for the date of renewal or search registration status at PHMSA’s online website (provided in the full regulatory report link below) to determine registration renewal year. All expiring registrations must be filed by the July 1, 2020 deadline in order to maintain operating authority to haul hazardous materials (petroleum products). Failure to do so will also result in a substantial fine. HAZMAT registration certificates are routinely checked by enforcement authorities at roadside inspections. Any vehicle without a current HAZMAT registration will be pulled out of service and the company will lose operating authority until registration is brought up to date.
Click here for the full regulatory report.

CDC Issues Guidelines for Reopening Businesses
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) published detailed guidelines for reopening businesses that have been shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. The document includes "Interim Guidance for Restaurants and Bars" starting on page 53. Click here to view the guidance.

Mastercard Delays EMV Deadline to April 16, 2021 with Conditions
Last Monday, Mastercard announced an extension of its EMV liability date to April 16, 2021. In a statement, Mastercard also announced that it “will develop a compliance program for some fuel merchants who have experienced high fraud at their locations to ensure they have a remediation plan in place to preempt and mitigate fraudulent transactions at their locations.”
Click here to view the whole statement.

PMAA is working to get additional details on the fraud mitigation program. For example, what does high fraud risk mean? Does it mean higher than average or will they use some other benchmark? Does high risk apply on a company wide basis or a particular outlet? For example, would a marketer who has a particular high-risk outlet have to implement the fraud mitigation at all his/her outlets? What sort of fraud mitigation activities will they require?
Voyager also just issued a delay to April 17, 2021. Click here to read the statement.
Major Card Network EMV New deadlines:
VISA: April 17, 2021
Mastercard: April 16, 2021
Discover: April 16, 2021
Amex: April 16, 2021
As you know, PMAA recently completed its own EMV survey over an 8-day period (April 30-May 7th) in which 253 companies participated in the survey. The results clearly demonstrate that a significant number of retail stations are unable to meet the October 2020 EMV deadline. Click here for the survey results.

OSHA Updated COVID-19 Guidance
Given the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, businesses are likely to be faced with COVID-19 complaints as customers return. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on May 19th issued an updated interim enforcement response plan for COVID-19 and an interim guidance for recording cases of COVID-19.

Under the Updated Interim Enforcement Response Plan for COVID-19, on-site inspections will be prioritized for fatalities and imminent danger exposures with particular attention on high-risk workplaces such as healthcare providers and workplaces with a high number of complaints and areas with high community transmission or a resurgence in community transmission of COVID-19. If on-site inspections cannot be conducted for these cases due to insufficient resources, the inspection will be initiated remotely with a follow-up on-site inspection when resources are available. In areas where the COVID-19 spread has significantly decreased or for medium risk workplaces (jobs with frequent and/or close contact with public or coworkers) and low risk workplaces (minimal occupational contact with the public and other coworkers) OSHA will follow normal (pre-COVID-19) inspection procedures. In these cases, complaints might not result in an on-site inspection but will be conducted using a non-formal phone/fax investigation or rapid response investigations. OSHA Compliance Officers will be required to take appropriate precautions and use personal protective equipment (PPE) when performing COVID-19 inspections.

The Revised Enforcement Guidance for Recording Cases of COVID-19 becomes effective on May 26, 2020. This guidance is time-limited to the current COVID-19 public health crisis. COVID-19 is a recordable illness that employers are responsible for recording if the case is (1) a confirmed case of COVID-19, (2) the case is work related, and (3) meets the criteria in 29 CFR § 1904.7 (i.e., results in death, days away from work, restricted work or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness). In recognition of the transmission of this disease in the community and the resulting difficulty in determining whether a COVID-19 illness is work-related, this guidance describes criteria that will be evaluated to determine if an employer has made a good faith effort to comply with the reporting requirements. OSHA will consider the reasonableness of the investigation into whether the COVID-19 case was work related, the available evidence, and the evaluation of the available evidence.

With this revised guidance, businesses should expect an increase focus and response on COVID-19 complaints. COVID-19 complaints by employees will need to be investigated regardless of whether it is ultimately determined that it was work-related.

DOL Issues Final Rule Clarifying Overtime Rules for Retail and Service Industry Employers
Last Monday, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued a final rule, effective immediately, simplifying an overtime exemption for commission-based workers in the retail and service industries. The new rule is designed to provide greater clarity and flexibility for employers by withdrawing two provisions from the WHD regulations.
Click here to view the DOL press release on the final rule that was announced last week.

Federated Insurance May Educational Articles
Property/Casualty and/or Workers Compensation subjects

a Human Resources-related question and answer from independent HR legal professionals

concepts related to Life and Disability insurance