NPGA Outlines Top 2019 Priorities; Sets Agenda For New Congress

With the 116th Congress taking office this month, National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) leaders have a lot of work to do to introduce the propane industry and its many concerns to 100 new members of Congress. With three new Democrats and six new Republicans in the Senate and 60 new Democrats and 31 new Republicans in the House of Representatives, NPGA leaders would like to meet with the offices of all new members with key propane interests prior to Propane Days in June 2019. The majority in the House has shifted to the Democrats and the new Congress is the most racially diverse and has the most females in history. Meanwhile, with only two years remaining in President Trump’s term, just two years remain to accomplish some key objectives with the executive branch agencies during the current business-friendly administration.

Once the results of the Nov. 6, 2018 election were known, NPGA staff began planning the agenda they would recommend to their governmental affairs committee and the executive committee. The agenda analyzed the election results and shifted priorities to reflect the new political landscape. “Once these committees agree to the priorities, these are our marching orders,” said Rick Roldan, president and CEO. “I’m very excited about the many things we can accomplish this year as we pivot to more growth-oriented priorities. We want to walk in talking about exactly what we want to accomplish.”

In February 2018, Congress retroactively extended the Alternative Fuel Tax Credit for fuel sold or used through Dec. 31, 2017, but not beyond that. Extending the Alternative Fuel Tax Credit would allow a 50-cent/gallon tax credit to be reinstated for natural gas, liquefied hydrogen, propane, P-Series fuel, liquid fuel derived from coal through Fischer-Tropsch process, and compressed or liquefied gas derived from biomass. In the past, NPGA has sought an extension for two years and said a long-term extension would provide business certainty and add a significant contribution to America’s economic growth.

This Act would create an apprenticeship program for commercial drivers aged 18 to 21 that would allow them to operate in interstate commerce provided they met certain criteria. The act would require additional training and technology for the younger drivers. It would help ease the U.S. trucker shortage by expanding the talent pool.

With each energy source creating a carbon footprint, a full accounting of carbon produced by each energy source through its full fuel cycle will show propane to be very environmentally-friendly. Carbon labeling fulfills the consumer need for consistent, comparable, and verifiable information about the carbon footprint associated with the use of residential appliances by requiring manufacturers to place this information on their appliance labels.

“We’ll be putting a priority on Democratic members of the House who represent districts that use a lot of propane,” said Michael Baker, director, legislative affairs. “We also recognize the importance of the Senate, which functions as a backstop and a bridge between the Democratic House of Representatives and the White House.”

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The Department of Transportation (DOT) currently exempts commercial drivers who meet the criteria for short-haul operation from the requirement to maintain a record of duty status (RODS) through the use of an electronic logging device. The current criteria specify the driver must stay within a 100 air-mile radius of their normal work reporting location and that they return to the work location and be released from work within 12 hours from coming on-duty. NPGA is looking to broaden these criteria by possibly expanding the air-mile radius or extending the time to report back to the normal work location. All NPGA members, particularly those out west where customers are more spread out, would benefit.

Employee apprenticeship programs are managed by the Department of Labor, and NPGA is seeking to leverage these programs to benefit the propane industry’s workforce development initiative.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has good programs for first-time home buyers, but buyers in rural areas may not be able to take advantage of these programs because of an obscure requirement that homes with 1000-gallon storage tanks or more be located not less than 300 feet from the propane tank. In these circumstances, such homes would not be eligible for FHA insurance. NPGA would like to see FHA utilize the NFPA 58 guidelines for separation distances between containers and homes, which permit much shorter distances.

“These agencies have become much more business-friendly and willing to cut unnecessary and excessive regulation,” said Mike Caldarera, vice president, regulatory and technical services. “We need to work hard during the next two years to bring about desired relief from many of these regulations.”

“There are many, many regulatory issues we are going to be continuing to work on,” Roldan said. “For one, we will continue to push for pipeline owners to not be allowed to favor their own affiliates to the detriment of others.” Roldan also noted the expansion of NPGA staff to focus more and more on state engagement as well as federal level engagement. “We are staffed, structured, and budgeted to deal with state-level issues, often in partnership with propane state associations, all over the country.” —Pat Thornton