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25 Sep

Posted at 14:04h in Regulatory
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Today the Federal Register published a U.S. Department of Labor proposed rule offering clarity to the determination whether a worker is an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or an independent contractor. In the proposed rule, the Department would: Adopt an “economic reality” test to determine a worker’s status as an FLSA employee or an independent contractor. The test considers whether a worker is in business for himself or herself (independent contractor) or is economically dependent on a putative employer for work (employee); Identify and explain two “core factors,”...

24 Sep

Posted at 19:46h in Regulatory
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Date: Thursday October 8, 2020 Time: 2 PM (EST) 11 AM (PST) With thousands of OSHA Standards, many employers find the rules are too numerous to memorize, not to mention they are often difficult to decipher and implement. Each year, OSHA publishes a list of "Top Ten Most Frequently Cited Standards" in an effort to alert employers about standards the agency has issued the most citations for. The hope is employers will learn from these results and take steps to find and abate the hazards addressed in this list of standards, before...

16 Sep

Posted at 14:37h in Regulatory
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NEWS RELEASE via Environmental Protection Agency This week, the Trump Administration reaffirmed its commitment to support America’s farmers by moving forward to review and adjudicate petitions for small refinery exemptions under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is denying petitions for small refinery exemptions for past compliance years, the so-called “gap-filling” petitions for the 2011-18 compliance years. “This decision follows President Trump’s promise to promote domestic biofuel production, support our nation’s farmers, and in turn strengthen our energy independence,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “At the EPA, we...

11 Sep

Posted at 19:23h in Regulatory
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On Friday, September 11, 2020, the State Finance Council met to consider Governor Kelly’s request to extend her COVID-19 related disaster declaration which is set to expire on Tuesday, September 15th. On a vote of the members, the State Finance Council extended the Governor’s emergency disaster declaration for 30 days until October 15th, with additional language included stating that the Governor does not intend to close businesses. Without the extension of the emergency declaration, Kansas would lose access to federal CARES funding. Further extensions of the disaster declaration after October...

03 Sep

Posted at 19:44h in Advocacy
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As we have reported previously, Kansas has some of the highest electric utility rates in our region. In order to make Kansas a more competitive state to operate your business, your Association joined with other stakeholders in pushing for legislation to lower those rates. Kansas public utilities have historically included in their rates, an amount to compensate them for the state corporate income taxes that they pay. In fact, while the utilities have collected those monies, they have not actually paid those taxes to the State for at least the last...

02 Sep

Posted at 21:59h in Advocacy, Industry News, Regulatory
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Renew Kansas Biofuels Association submitted written comments to Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) regarding the agency’s notice of public hearing on its proposal to revoke existing regulation limiting the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) of ethanol-blended motor vehicle fuel sold in the Kansas City area during the summer months. “E15 fuel could be made available to consumers in Kansas City by simply revoking this unnecessary regulation,” Renew Kansas President and CEO Ron Seeber said. “Allowing the sale of higher blends of ethanol fuel in the Kansas City area will directly...

27 Aug

Posted at 14:38h in Advocacy, Industry News, Regulatory
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The Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment (KDHE), Division of Environment, Bureau of Air, will conduct a public hearing at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020 to consider the revocation of K.A.R. 28-19-719. Renew Kansas, who has partnered with Kansas Corn on modifications to the State Implementation Plan (SIP), will be submitting comment. KDHE proposes to revoke K.A.R. 28-19-719, the Kansas City summertime Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) regulation. The Kansas City area is attaining the 2015 ozone standard based on 2015-2017, 2016-2018, and 2017-2019 monitoring data, and modeling shows that ozone forming...

25 Aug

Posted at 18:39h in Regulatory
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The FDA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will hold a webinar on Tuesday, September 1, 2020 from 2:30-3:30 pm EST to provide a COVID-19 update for food operations stakeholders. During the webinar, subject matter experts will highlight key aspects of the FDA/OSHA Employee Health and Food Safety Checklist for Human Food Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic, discuss the CDC testing strategy and its application, and provide an update on FDA inspections. The webinar will be recorded and posted to the FDA...

12 Aug

Posted at 20:02h in Industry News
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The Economic Development and Connectivity grant program is a new COVID response program that will use $60 million from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide grants to small businesses and nonprofits that have incurred losses greater than 25% of revenues during the COVID pandemic, among other eligible categories. The program is being administered by the state's Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) task force and the Kansas Dept. of Commerce. KARA will provide more information as soon as it is available. On Monday, August 10, the...

15 Jul

Posted at 12:23h in Industry News, Regulatory
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This week, Governor Laura Kelly signed Executive order No. 20-57, extending conditional and temporary relief from certain motor carrier rules and regulations. The rule is set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on August 14, 2020 or until the statewide State of Disaster Emergency extended by House Bill 2016 expires, whichever is earlier.   In accordance with the FMCSA's declaration under Title 49 C.F.R. § 390.23(a)(l)(i), Title 49 C.F.R §§ 390-399 are hereby suspended for motor carriers and persons operating commercial vehicles actively participating in COVID-19 relief or restoration efforts, except that...

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