MPCA NEWS . ONLINE .
573.635.7117
phone • 573.635.3575
fax • www.mpca.org • ©
MPCA 2008
MAY 12, 2008
1. MPCA Golf Tournament & PAC Fundraiser: June 2,
2008.
*Only 136 Golfers Have Registered To Date, & We
Usually Have 175+! Term Limits Are An Expensive Nightmare - Please Support MPCA
& Register Today! *
2. The 2008
*Things Can Change Minute-By-Minute, So Keep An Eye
Out For Email Alerts!*
3. MPCA Member Services: Save Money, Increase
Profitability & Keep Your Membership Dues Low. What Have You Got To Lose?
4. Alcohol & Tobacco: Stings!
5. Terminals: Law Requires Unblended, 10% Blend, &
Ethanol.
6. Federal Legislative & Regulatory News:
A. MTBE Settlement. B. 23 Senators Propose Waiving Renewable Fuel Mandates.C. Democrats Ask Bush To Create A New Task Force To Investigate Speculators.D. PMAA Signs Onto Letter That Would Address The “Information Reporting For Electronic Payments”.
E. Farm Bill Final Deal.F. FTC Seeks Comments On Proposed Rule On Market Manipulation.G. USDOT Haz Mat Registration Requirements: Deadline Is 7/1/08. H. EPA Stage 1 Initial Report Due 5/9/08! 1. MPCA GOLF
TOURNAMENT & PAC FUNDRAISER: JUNE 2, 2008.
ONLY 136 GOLFERS HAVE REGISTERED TO DATE, & WE USUALLY HAVE 175+!
TERM LIMITS ARE AN EXPENSIVE NIGHTMARE - PLEASE SUPPORT MPCA & REGISTER
TODAY!
A. WHY. It’s fair to say that every MPCA member is impacted
by some or all of the following issues: fuel pricing and taxation; renewable
fuel mandates; regulating and/or mandating fuel formulas, fuel tanks fuel pumps
& fuel equipment; environmental issues involving fuel, fuel tanks and fuel
pumps; transportation funding; and any and all issues involving tobacco,
alcohol, billboards, adult magazines and the Missouri Lottery.
Term limits were a huge mistake allowing for very
little institutional memory and no long-term relationships. Imagine if every
eight (8) years Microsoft’s Board of Directors was forced to resign. Sounds
silly, right?
Unfortunately, every couple of years MPCA needs to
spend huge amounts of time and money to make and educate a whole new crop of
legislative friends and allies.
B. HOW. MPCA and every other politically powerful and
successful association needs two (2) things to ensure that our message is heard
loud and clear: an active membership (grassroots support and great attendance
at Lobby Day) and the resources to effectively communicate our positions and
agenda.
MPCA’s Annual Golf Tournament and PAC Fundraiser
provides MPCA with the resources we need to ensure that MPCA’s message, even in
the age of term limits, resonates loud and clear in
Remember, even if you do not golf you
can and should support the PAC by joining us for dinner on Monday
evening. Everyone is welcome and strongly encouraged to attend!
C. WHEN
& WHERE. MPCA typically holds the
Golf Tournament & PAC Fundraiser in May/June in election years (even
numbered years) and September in non-election years (odd numbered years). This
way MPCA minimizes expenses and maximizes our PAC resources well before the
August primary election and the November general election.
The 2008 MPCA Annual Golf Tournament & PAC Fundraiser
will be held on Monday, June 2, 2008, at the Lodge of Four Seasons at the
MPCA’s Annual Golf
Event features something for everyone!
You can play golf and or opt to just join us for the dinner on Monday
evening. Either way, your event
registration helps support MPCA.
Please support MPCA by registering yourself and all of
your key personnel ASAP! Thank you!
D. HOW TO REGISTER. Click
here for a Registration Form and a complete Schedule of Events, or feel
free to call Angie at 573.635.7117, ext. 10.
E. HOTEL
RESERVATIONS. The Lodge of Four
Seasons at
2. THE 2008
A. SCHEDULE.
The 2008 Missouri Legislative Session commenced on Wednesday, 1/9/08, and ends
at 6:00 PM on Friday, 5/16/08.
B. SPECIFIC ISSUES. MPCA has nothing to report on any specific issues at this time. The
last week of Session its 110% defense, defense and defense.
Please check your email frequently this last week in
case MPCA sends out any legislative alerts and needs ever member to take action
immediately!
C. MPCA CAPITOL REPORT. Click
here to view the updated MPCA Capitol Report which tracks all the 2008
legislation that is of interest to MPCA.
Please take the time to
regularly and carefully review this very important document, and do not
hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.
D.
VIEW LEGISLATION. To view 2008
legislation, visit the following websites:
Click here to view
House Bills.
Click
here to view Senate Bills.
E.
CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS.
To contact your State Representatives and Senators, visit the following
websites:
Click
here to contact your State Representatives.
Click here to contact
your State Senators.
F.
HOUSE AND SENATE COMMITTEES.
To view 2008 State House & Senate Committees and Committee members, visit
the following websites:
Click
here to view the House Committees.
Click here to view the
Senate Committees.
3. MPCA MEMBER SERVICES:
SAVE MONEY, INCREASE PROFITABILITY & KEEP YOUR MEMBERSHIP DUES LOW. WHAT
HAVE YOU GOT TO LOSE?
A. WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT. MPCA members who take advantage of MPCA’s member
services listed accomplish 3 key objectives.
First, they save money and
thus increase their company’s profitability. Second, they help generate a very
important source of “non-dues revenue” for MPCA which helps to keep your MPCA
membership dues as low as possible. Finally, this “non-dues revenue” stream
provides MPCA with the tools we need to protect and advance your legislative
and regulatory interests in
Truly a “win, win, win”
scenario for all involved!
B. WHO IS ELIGIBLE. Every MPCA member service is available to every MPCA member - marketer
members, c-store members, associate members, etc.
C. SPECIFIC MEMBER SERVICES. The following is a list of member services offered by
MPCA:
1.
Employment Screening Reports: Criminal Background, Credit, Liquor Control,
Driver/Motor Vehicle & More.
2.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance.
3.
Health Insurance, Property & Liability Insurance, & Financial
Protection Services.
4.
Credit Card Processing.
5.
Office Supplies & Equipment.
6.
Overnight Shipping.
7.
Industry Publications.
8. MPCA
Fuel Theft Decals.
D. HOW TO GET FURTHER INFORMATION. Click
here to access all the information you need regarding MPCA’s member
services.
4. ALCOHOL & TOBACCO:
STINGS!
On Thursday, 5/8, seven (7) out of ten (10)
c-stores and liquor stores in Columbia failed surprise stings and sold alcohol
to minors.
While I’m sure this failure rate is an
anomaly, it gives MPCA an opportunity to remind all of our members to make
every effort that policies and training are updated to ensure that tobacco and
alcohol are never, ever sold to minors!
5. TERMINALS: LAW REQUIRES
UNBLENDED, 10% BLEND, & ETHANOL.
A. THE ISSUES. MPCA
has received several calls stating that some
In addition, I am told that some of the
majors are demanding that their franchisees only buy ethanol from them.
B. THE LAW. Subsections
8 & 9 of section 414.255, RSMo, the 2006 ethanol standard which became
effective on 1/1/08, are very clear and self-explanatory when they state:
“8. All terminals in
9. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, all fuel
retailers, wholesalers, distributors, and marketers shall be allowed to
purchase fuel ethanol from any terminal, position holder, fuel ethanol
producer, fuel ethanol wholesaler, or supplier. In the event a court of
competent jurisdiction finds that this subsection does not apply to or
improperly impairs existing contractual relationships, then this subsection
shall only apply to and impact future contractual relationships.”
Click here
to access the entire section 414.255, RSMo.
C. WHAT TO DO IF YOU EXPERIENCE A PROBLEM.
The Department of Agriculture is charged with enforcing section 414.255, RSMo.
Feel free to call Ron Hayes at 573.751.4278 if you have any questions or
concerns.
In addition, please do not hesitate to call
Ron at MPCA (573.635.7117, ext. 16) if you have additional questions or
concerns.
6. FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE
& REGULATORY NEWS.
MPCA received the following
on 5/9/08 & 5/12/08 from the Petroleum Marketers Association of America
(PMAA).
A. “MTBE SETTLEMENT. Independent petroleum marketers were
surprised to learn that several oil refiners have decided to pay $422 million
to settle a multi-district MTBE lawsuit brought by 153 public water
companies.
Contributing to
the settlement was: BP Amoco, Atlantic Richfield, Chevron, ConocoPhillips,
Shell,
PMAA will be
consulting our legal counsel, Bassman, Mitchell and Alfano, to determine
how this settlement might impact independent marketers.”
B. “23 SENATORS PROPOSE WAIVING RENEWABLE FUEL MANDATES. Twenty-three Senate Republicans, including Republican presidential
nominee, Senator John McCain (R-AZ), sent a letter on May 2 to EPA
Administrator Stephen Johnson, asking him to consider waiving the ethanol
mandate due to the consequences the food-to-fuel mandates have had on food
prices. The Energy Independence and Security Act, H.R. 6, requires nine
billion gallons of corn-based ethanol or other renewable fuel to be blended
with gasoline in 2008 and 36 billion gallons by 2022. However, H.R. 6
allows the EPA Administrator to waive the renewable fuel requirements.
Senate Republicans argue that 30 percent of the natural corn crop and vegetable
oils will have to be diverted for fuel supplies which would significantly
increase food prices. Last week, Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) asked the
EPA to cut the 2008 requirement of nine billion gallons in half. Under
the law established in H.R. 6, the EPA has 90 days to respond to Governor
Perry’s request. While the sentiment for waiving the ethanol mandate
picks up momentum in the House and Senate, Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA) and
Tim Johnson (D-SD) sent a letter asking their colleagues to sign a letter to
the EPA to oppose waiving the mandate. The letter stated that the
RFS has only a three percent effect in the increase on global food prices
which would not justify a complete or partial waiver of the mandate.
Meanwhile, the
House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality considered
rolling back the renewable fuel mandate. Full committee ranking member Joe
Barton (R-TX) considered returning the renewable fuels standard to the levels
established in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 which would set a standard of 7.5
billion gallons by 2012. Several members of the committee stressed the
need for coal-to-liquid (CTL) production which was not included in H.R. 6 due
to increased carbon emissions concerns. The EPA stated that it would
consider new energy proposals on a case-by-case basis.”
C.
“DEMOCRATS ASK BUSH TO CREATE A NEW TASK FORCE TO INVESTIGATE SPECULATORS. As energy
prices continue to skyrocket, Democratic Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Carl
Levin (D-MI) called on President Bush to establish an energy task force to
investigate whether speculators are driving energy prices to historic
levels. Various energy experts are pinning the recent energy price run-up
on excessive speculation suggesting that it adds anywhere up to 25
percent. The letter requested that the President pull together several
high ranking government officials including the Secretary of the Treasury and
Chairmen of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and
the U.S. Attorney General to examine energy markets and its effect on prices at
the pump. The Energy Information Agency released its energy outlook for
the next six months and projected world oil consumption to grow by 1.2 million
barrels per day and gas prices to hover near $3.52 per gallon.”
D. “PMAA
SIGNS ONTO LETTER THAT WOULD ADDRESS THE “INFORMATION REPORTING FOR ELECTRONIC
PAYMENTS”. PMAA, along with 16 other trade associations known as
The Coalition for Fairness in Tax Compliance, sent a letter to the Senate
Committee on Finance, to address the committee’s draft proposal on “Information
Reporting for Electronic Payments.” The proposal known as a “payment
facilitator” would provide the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the merchant
with an annual aggregate total of the gross receipts of individual merchant
processed by the payment facilitator. The proposal states that this would
allow the IRS to develop trends and reporting profiles on merchants.
The proposal would place an
administrative burden on retailers because they would receive an annual
information return form from the payment facilitator and then would have to
reconcile their books and records before filing their tax return for the year.
They could later be audited and found to have understated receipts. The
proposal would also increase costs for small businesses to comply and there is
no clear evidence that the IRS would be able to use the information to identify
merchants who are underreporting their electronic payments. Finally, the
“Information Reporting for Electronic Payments” would require that the merchant
card processor verify the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) of the
merchant. If the processor fails to verify the TIN or has an incorrect
TIN, the processor is required to withhold 28 percent. This would
severely affect honest small business owners who do not have a large amount of
cash on hand to absorb the time it would require to obtain the money withheld
from them due to a simple mistake by the merchant or government.”
E. “FARM
BILL FINAL DEAL. Lawmakers announced late May 7 that they have completed
their conference report for the Farm bill (H.R. 2419), clearing the way for
floor consideration during the week of May 12. Over the last few weeks, Farm
bill conferees have been going back and forth with the Bush Administration over
funding limits. According to conferees, they have agreed on every section
in the farm bill including the Senate Amendment Title XIII known as the
Commodity Exchange Act Reauthorization of 2008. However, PMAA has yet to see
the complete details. The President has signed (2) two week extensions
since the previous Farm bill authorization expired to give lawmakers time to
settle differences. The House and Senate are expected to consider the
conference report May 14 which should pass each chamber. However, the
White House has said it is unlikely to satisfy the President. If a veto
should occur, the Senate is expected to have the necessary votes to override a
veto.”
F. “FTC SEEKS COMMENTS ON
PROPOSED RULE ON MARKET MANIPULATION. This
week the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) officially announced that it is
soliciting comments on a rule to prevent possible market manipulation in the
petroleum industry. Two sections of the 2007 Energy Bill give the
FTC new authority to promulgate more comprehensive petroleum market oversight
regulations. The FTC expects to complete the rulemaking process by the end of
the year.
PMAA will be submitting
formal comments to the FTC on the rule and PMAA’s Board of Directors will
discuss the issues next week when they meet in
A copy of the proposed rule
is available here.”
G. USDOT HAZ MAT REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS: DEADLINE IS 7/1/08. Click here to download and review PMAA’s 5/12/08 Compliance Bulletin on this topic.
MPCA received the following
on 5/12/08 from the Society Of Independent Gasoline
Marketers of America (SIGMA). This issue has been addressed in multiple previous
MPCA Newsletters.
H.
“EPA STAGE 1 INITIAL REPORT DUE 5/9/08! In January, the EPA finalized a rule requiring specific vapor
controls during the refilling of gasoline storage tanks. All locations
selling more than 10,000 gallons per month are required to submit basic
facility information to EPA by May 9, 2008. New or reconstructed facilities
must comply with regulations by January 10, 2008 or upon start up of the
facility. Existing facilities must retrofit equipment by January 10, 2011.
Existing facilities that become subject to requirements because of an increase
in gasoline throughput must achieve compliance within 3 years of attaining the
volume threshold. Click here to download
the appropriate form.
The final rule
requires the following criteria to be met for all gasoline dispensing
facilities:
1. At all
facilities, checking for leaks and using good housekeeping procedures to
prevent evaporation of gasoline
2. At all
facilities with monthly gasoline throughputs of 10,000 gallons or more,
submerged fill pipes must be used when loading storage tanks. Tanks of 250 gallons
or less are exempt. If a notice of compliance is not sent to the EPA Regional
Office, operators must file with the EPA and the appropriate delegated State
authority an Initial Notification by May 9, 2008, or at the time a facility
becomes subject to the control requirements (exceeds 10,000 gallons per month).
This notification shall include:
-Name and address
of owner and operator
-Address
(physical location) of the GDF
-Statement that
notification is being submitted in response to this regulation
3. At all
facilities with monthly gasoline throughputs of 100,000 gallons or more, vapor
balancing should be used between the storage tank and the tank truck. Storage
tanks with a capacity less than 250 gallons constructed after January 10, 2008,
storage tanks with a capacity less than 2,000 gallons constructed before
January 10, 2008, and storage tanks equipped with floating roofs or the
equivalent are exempt. Operators must file a compliance report every three
years. This report can be submitted in lieu of the initial notification.”
MPCA STAFF
Ronald J. Leone, Esq.,
Executive Director, ron@mpca.org
Karen Antweiler, Asst.
Executive Director, karen@mpca.org
Angie Rickard, Administrative
Assistant, angie@mpca.org