The OPMCA office will be closed for Thanksgiving on Nov. 28th and 29th. We will resume regular office hours the following Monday. Have a wonderful and safe holiday!
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OPMCA would like to extend a big THANK YOU to those that attended the 2019 OPMCA Round Table Meetings the past couple of weeks. These meetings are a great opportunity to meet with the membership and raise money for the OPMCA PAC. Your support is greatly appreciated!
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A special THANK YOU to the 2019 Round Table Meetings Sponsors:
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Coffeyville Resources
Domino Equipment Company
Double Check Company
Federated Insurance
HollyFrontier
Image Builders
Petroleum Card Services
Petroleum Marketers Equipment Co.
Phillips 66
Seneca Companies
Shell Oil Products US
United Petroleum Transports
Valero Marketing & Supply Co.
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f you were unable to attend any of the Round Table Meetings, you can find all of the topics covered
HERE
. If you have any questions about any of the information, please contact the OPMCA office.
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- State Election Board Debuts New OK Voter Portal
- FMCSA Set to Propose Important Hours of Service Reform Regulations
- SBLC Holds Webinar on New Overtime Rules
- Please Continue to Urge Congress to Extend the Biodiesel Blender’s Tax Credit
- Tobacco and E-Cig Bill Advances in Key House Subcommittee
- RS Issues Hefty Fines for Failure to Display Dyed Fuel Dispenser Labels
- Federated Insurance November Educational Articles
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State Election Board Debuts New OK Voter Portal
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The State Election Board has launched a brand new tool that will provide the state’s online voter services in one convenient location. The OK Voter Portal debuted this month on the State Election Board website at elections.ok.gov. State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax says it’s a big step forward for engaging voters and enhancing both convenience and security.
“The OK Voter Portal is a one-stop-shop for voters. It’s convenient, mobile-friendly, and most importantly—it’s safe and secure,” Ziriax said.
The OK Voter Portal allows voters to:
- Verify voter registration information
- View voting districts
- Find polling place information
- View a sample ballot
- Request and check the status of absentee ballots
- Change a residence address (within the same county) or a mailing address
- Change political affiliation
- Respond to an Address Confirmation Notice (during the year it is issued)
Ziriax also urged Oklahoma voters to be cautious about using sites or services that are not operated by election officials.
“More and more organizations are offering services and information to voters that duplicate what the State Election Board already provides – such as signing up for election reminders, locating your polling place, or requesting an absentee ballot," he said. “What most people don’t realize, though, is that these sites are not affiliated with the State Election Board. For accurate, secure, and up-to-date information, voters should always contact the State Election Board or their County Election Board first.”
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FMCSA Set to Propose Important Hours of Service Reform Regulations
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PMAA submitted written comments at the beginning of November on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s proposed changes to CDL driver hours of service requirements. The FMCSA changes are designed to provide regulatory relief to motor carriers and CDL drivers. PMAA worked closely with the FMCSA on the rulemaking from its initial conception back in 2017 and was successful in having several key changes added to the proposed rule. The four important changes in the proposed rule that are important to petroleum marketers include:
- Expand the current 100 air-mile radius limitation in the short-haul driver exception to recording daily to 150 air-mile radius.
- Extend the 12-hour daily maximum on-duty period for CDL drivers operating under the short haul exception to a maximum 14 hours on-duty.
- Add two hours onto the 14- hour daily maximum on-duty status for CDL drivers operating under the adverse weather exception. The adverse weather exception currently extends the 11-hour maximum daily driving limit by 2-hours due to bad weather but does add 2 hours onto the 14-hour maximum daily on-duty time to accommodate for the longer driving time.
- Allow CDL drivers to interrupt the clock on their 14-hour maximum daily on-duty time for up to 3 hours, for loading and unloading activities, provided the driver goes off-duty for the length of the interruption and takes 10 consecutive hours off at the end of the work shift.
PMAA told the FMCSA that it supports the proposed changes and requested that the break in on-duty time for up to three hours apply to CDL drivers who are required to remain on-duty during waiting periods at petroleum terminals. The changes are expected to add flexibility to driver scheduling and provide some relief to the chronic shortage of qualified CDL drivers. The final rule is expected to be published early next year.
Click
here
to view PMAA’s comments.
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SBLC Holds Webinar on New Overtime Rules
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Earlier in November, the Small Business Legislative Council (SBLC) held a webinar regarding the new final overtime regulations. The webinar provided an overview of the DOL’s newly released overtime rules and recommendations for businesses on what steps they need to take before the rules go into effect on January 1, 2020.
If you weren’t able to make the Overtime webinar, but would still like to view it, the webinar is now available on SBLC’s website by clicking
here.
Choose the link labeled “For Members’ Guests” – the username and password will be as follows:
Username: 2019 Password: FinalRegulations
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Please Continue to Urge Congress to Extend the Biodiesel Blender’s Tax Credit
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Please continue to remind your members of Congress to extend the $1 per gallon biodiesel blender’s tax credit.
Since 2005, there has been a $1 per gallon biodiesel and renewable diesel blenders' tax credit which was created to stimulate production and consumption of biodiesel and renewable diesel. The biodiesel blender's credit has worked successfully to build a strong incentive for downstream fuel marketers to blend renewable fuel into the fuel supply which has lowered prices for motorists and heating fuels for consumers. As a result, the U.S. biodiesel and renewable diesel market has grown from roughly 100 million gallons in 2005 to nearly 2.6 billion gallons in 2017.
Unfortunately, the tax credit expired on December 31, 2017 and has been in limbo since. Congress must act before the end of this year to retroactively extend the credit for calendar year 2018 and through at least 2019. There is a chance that Congress will tack on a biodiesel tax credit extension to an end of the year funding bill so please reach out to your lawmakers.
Click
here
to urge your members of Congress to renew the $1 per gallon biodiesel blender’s tax credit.
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Tobacco and E-Cig Bill Advances in Key House Subcommittee
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A few weeks ago, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee approved, H.R. 2339, the “Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019,” by voice vote which will now be send to the full House Energy and Commerce for consideration.
Recently, the PMAA Convenience Store Committee held a call to discuss provisions of H.R. 2339 which is sponsored by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ). The PMAA Cstore Committee decided to oppose the provision in H.R. 2339 that seeks to ban menthol cigarettes. NACS, SIGMA and PMAA are concerned that a ban on menthol cigarettes will promote a black market. Unfortunately, bill sponsors approved the bill as is.
The bill proposes several things including:
- Raising the minimum age of purchase to 21 (PMAA is neutral on this issue and has left it up to each state to decide their position)
- Banning all non-face-to-face sales of all tobacco products including delivery sales • Prohibiting flavoring of tobacco products (includes menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars, and flavored chewing tobacco)
- Make it unlawful to market, advertise or promote any e-cigarette product to individuals under the age of 21. This would include requiring manufacturers of all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to be held to the same advertising and sales requirements currently applied to the sale, distribution, and use of traditional cigarettes.
- Increasing user fees (FDA will have the authority to collect user fees from all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. It also increases the total amount of user fees collected each year by $100 million)
The bill has a good chance to pass the House but faces an uphill battle in the Senate which is not likely to consider the bill this Congress.
Meanwhile, as previously reported by PMAA, the House passed H.R. 3942, known as the “Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act.” The bipartisan bill would prohibit online sales of e-cigarettes to minors by applying the same safeguards already in place for regular cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products.
The bill now goes to the Senate where its companion legislation, S. 1253, will be voted on. The Senate companion bill was introduced earlier this year by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).
The bill amends the “Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT Act)” to also include ecigarettes in the definition that already includes cigarettes. Specifically, the bill would require online retailers of e-cigarettes to:
- Verify the age of customers for all purchases.
- Require an adult with ID to be present for delivery.
- Label shipping packages to show they contain tobacco products.
- Comply with all state and local tobacco tax requirements.
PMAA fully supports this bill. PMAA asks that you remind your Senators to cosponsor this important legislation. Click
here
to do so.
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RS Issues Hefty Fines for Failure to Display Dyed Fuel Dispenser Labels
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PMAA is continuing to receive calls about ongoing IRS enforcement of dispenser labeling requirements.
The IRS requires all dyed diesel and dyed kerosene dispensers to have a specific label indicating that the fuel is for nontaxable use only. The labeling requirement has been in place for diesel and dyed diesel dispensers since 1993 and for dyed and clear kerosene dispensers since 1998. The IRS has recently stepped up enforcement of the dispenser label requirements. Some petroleum marketers are under the mistaken belief that the EPA’s LSD and ULSD dispenser labels - which also provide notice on nontaxable uses of these fuels – are a replacement for the IRS labels. This is incorrect. Both the IRS and EPA labels are required despite their apparent redundancy.
The following IRS labels must be posted on any retail dispenser or other delivery facility (skid tank, consumer dispensers at bulk plants or card locks) where dyed diesel fuel and/or dyed kerosene are dispensed for use by a purchaser/consumer:
“DYED DIESEL FUEL, NONTAXABLE USE ONLY, PENALTY FOR TAXABLE USE”
or,
“DYED KEROSENE, NONTAXABLE USE ONLY, PENA+LTY FOR TAXABLE USE”.
In addition, the following label must be posted on all blocked pumps that sell clear, untaxed kerosene:
"UNDYED UNTAXED KEROSENE, NONTAXABLE USE ONLY".
The labels must be affixed to the dispenser in a conspicuous place within easy sight of the person dispensing the fuel either on the face of the dispenser (on both sides) or on the side of the dispenser just above the nozzle housing.
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Federated Insurance November Educational Articles
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Protect Your Employees from Blood-Borne Pathogens
Payroll Advances - Best Advice?
Changes May Require a Review of Your Plans
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