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24 Jan

Posted at 08:35h in Advocacy
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2022 Legislative Session, Week 2 This week, the Legislature worked through bills and hearings, even while many legislators were absent due to positive COVID tests. The Senate passed a few bills of high importance, as the House also began initial committee work. Here are some of the highlights of the week. Redistricting Aside from passing a budget one of the main objectives of the 2022 session will be adopting new maps and boundaries for the legislature, statewide elected seats, state school board, and our state Congressional districts. On Friday, the Senate passed Sub...

17 Jan

Posted at 08:50h in Advocacy
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2022 Legislative Session Commences The Kansas legislature gaveled in on Monday, January 10, 2022, and your Association’s government affairs staff was at the capitol monitoring and weighing in on bills affecting our industry. It was a busy week in Topeka which saw hearings on various tax issues related to wildfires in the state and Governor Laura Kelly’s State of the State address. Key issues this session will include reapportionment and redistricting following the 2020 census, a Senate vote on the “Value Them Both” constitutional amendment question on abortion, possible legalization of medical...

19 Dec

Posted at 14:00h in Industry News, Regulatory
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Late on Friday, December 17, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a split decision removing the stay on OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for large employers. The ETS requires covered employees to be vaccinated or wear a protective face covering and test weekly. The ETS was published in the Federal Register on November 5, 2021, and then immediately challenged in federal court by dozens of states and other plaintiffs. The very next day, a stay was issued on the emergency standard by the U.S. Court...

16 Dec

Posted at 08:53h in Industry News
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The selection committee for the Tomorrow’s Agribusiness Leaders (TAL) program met in early-December to review applications and select five members of the Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association and five members of the Kansas Grain and Feed Association to comprise the 24th class of agribusiness’ premier leadership development course.   The selection committee, comprised of former TAL graduates chose: Michelle Busch (Syngenta); Garrett Buschjost (Koch Agronomic Services); Adam Butler (MKC); Douglas Graber (Producers Cooperative Association); Brandon Legg (Concordia Terminal LLC); Jacob Leis (CoMark Equity Alliance); Stacy Letourneau (Cloud County Cooperative Elevator); Adam Niehues (Jackson...

10 Dec

Posted at 07:17h in Regulatory
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan announced that President Biden will appoint Meg McCollister to become EPA’s Regional Administrator for Region 7. McCollister will lead the implementation of the Biden-Harris environmental agenda in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and with nine Tribal Nations. “Meg brings deep experience in community organizing and stakeholder engagement. I know she will ensure voices throughout Region 7 are heard on key issues and I’m very excited to welcome her to the team,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “I’m incredibly honored to be appointed as...

23 Nov

Posted at 09:13h in Advocacy
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In a one-day historic Special Session yesterday brought by legislative petition, the Kansas legislature passed House Bill 2001. The Special Session was called following legislative hearings where over a hundred people testified to a special committee on the negative affects the COVID-19 mandate would have on their employment status. The bill was championed by both House and Senate leadership and was the sole purpose for the Special Session. The Senate passed the bill 24-11 and the House passed it by a vote of 77-34. Your association joined others in the business community...

22 Nov

Posted at 09:32h in Advocacy, Industry News
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The Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association (KARA) board of directors approved the association's 2022 legislative and regulatory policy guide ahead of the upcoming Kansas legislative session in January. The KARA Policy Guide contains the policy and position statements of the Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association relating to state and federal legislative and regulatory issues. It is intended to serve as a general reference for Association members, legislators, and other state officials. The policy guide is reviewed and updated annually by the KARA Legislative Committee and approved by the KARA Board of Directors. VIEW POLICY GUIDE  ...

12 Nov

Posted at 07:17h in Industry News
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The Kansas Department of Transportation is committed to keeping the highways cleared whenever inclement weather impacts the state. In line with workforce shortages across the nation, KDOT does not have enough equipment operators – the agency’s primary snowplow operators – in a number of areas across Kansas. These shortages create the potential for highways to not be cleared of snow and ice as quickly as in the past. The agency has dealt with reduced staffing in the past, but the shortages are greater this year. KDOT is about 30% short of snowplow...

09 Nov

Posted at 15:26h in Industry News
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will collect a $52,221 penalty from Postville, Iowa, fertilizer distributor Farmers Union Cooperative to resolve alleged violations of the federal Clean Air Act’s Risk Management Plan Rule. According to EPA, the company stores 457,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia, a regulated toxic substance, and failed to comply with regulations intended to protect workers and the surrounding community from accidental releases of regulated substances. After reviewing Farmers Union Cooperative’s facility records, EPA determined that the company failed to update its plans for preventing the release of anhydrous ammonia...

04 Nov

Posted at 06:36h in Industry News, Regulatory
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On Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021, President Joe Biden released details of the administration's long-rumored COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The mandate includes two newly-released policies and updates the previously announced federal contractor/employee rule: Vaccine requirement for employers with 100 or more employees Vaccine requirement for health care workers New timeline for federal contractors/employees of vaccination by Jan. 4, 2022. OSHA) is announcing the details of a requirement for employers with 100 or more employees to ensure each of their workers is fully vaccinated or tests for COVID-19 on at least a weekly basis. The...

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