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20 May

Posted at 08:13h in Regulatory
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In 2021, Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association (KARA), and other stakeholders worked with the Kansas Dept. Health and Environment (KDHE) in passing legislation authorizing KDHE to establish minimum thresholds for reporting spills of hazardous chemicals. Previously, all spills of any size were required to be reported even if the spill was of a volume that was of such low risk as to pose no risk to human or animal health or the environment. This was a notable departure from the standards set by other states and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Such a reporting...

20 May

Posted at 08:04h in Advocacy
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Before adjourning the 2024 Kansas legislative session earlier this month, the legislature sent Governor Laura Kelly a comprehensive tax relief bill and an omnibus budget bill. Yesterday, as was predicted, Governor Kelly announced her veto of the tax bill and multiple line-item vetoes in the budget bill. The Governor also announced she intends to call the legislature back in for a, “Special Session,” - likely following the Memorial Day weekend – to seek passage of a new tax package. Because the 2024 legislative session has adjourned, no bills would carry over from...

06 May

Posted at 07:22h in Regulatory
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The United States Environmental Protection Agency has issued two news releases opening comment periods on situations impacting the Kansas crop protection industry including canceling all but one use of the pesticide Acephate and Bayer CropScience's new product containing dicamba. [vc_row][vc_column width='1/2'] EPA Proposes to Cancel All but One Use of Pesticide Acephate to Protect Human Health The EPA is releasing a proposed interim decision (PID) to cancel all but one use of the pesticide acephate. This decision is based on EPA's updated human health draft risk assessment (HH DRA) and drinking water assessment (DWA)...

03 May

Posted at 06:10h in Advocacy
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On Friday, April 26, 2024, the Kansas legislature gaveled back in to begin its brief, “Veto Session,” where the legislature can attempt to override vetoes by the governor. Lawmakers worked Monday and Tuesday of this week before adjourning sine die around 12:30 a.m., on Wednesday morning, officially concluding the regular 2024 legislative session. As this is the second year of the legislative biennium, any bill that was not passed is no longer a live bill. Throughout the interim at the beginning of the month, Governor Laura Kelly vetoed at least 15...

10 Apr

Posted at 05:58h in Advocacy
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The legislature worked late into the night on Friday, April 5, adjourning around 3:15 a.m., on Saturday morning to wrap up the regular legislative session for 2024. A few items, however, were referred to conference committee where additional action may be taken when legislators return on April 29 for a brief, “Veto Session,” – a time when legislators generally consider taking action to override bills vetoed by the governor. There was much activity this week, with the legislature taking final action on dozens of bills. Of note, the legislature passed a...

03 Apr

Posted at 07:28h in Regulatory
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On Tuesday, April 2, the Biden-Harris Administration announced its rule to generally require a second crewmember on all trains. In finalizing this rule, FRA reviewed and considered over 13,500 written comments received during the 146-day comment period—in addition to the testimony from a one-day public hearing. “Common sense tells us that large freight trains, some of which can be over three miles long, should have at least two crew members on board - and now there’s a federal regulation in place to ensure trains are safely staffed,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete...

29 Mar

Posted at 16:50h in Advocacy
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With Friday, March 28 being the last day for activity on most bills, the 2024 Kansas legislature has only one week of regular session remaining. The Legislature is in recess over the Easter weekend and will reconvene on Monday, April 1 for one final week of action. After-which, the Legislature will break until April 29 when they will reconvene to consider any bills vetoed by Governor Laura Kelly. Leadership in both the House and Senate have stated their intention for final adjournment on April 30. Next week, the Legislature will focus on finalizing the...

26 Mar

Posted at 14:32h in Industry News
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Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association (KARA) has been made aware of ag retailers in Kansas, and in other states, that have received subpoenas related to multi-district federal litigation filed by plaintiffs (Paraquat Products Liability Litigation). As we understand, these subpoenas generally request information on paraquat use, purchases, and certification of the restricted use pesticide. The primary case has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. The Court set a date for information requests to be issued by March 11, 2024. While KARA is not able to provide legal advice...

22 Mar

Posted at 16:20h in Advocacy
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The 2024 Kansas legislative session is quickly winding down. Friday, March 22 is the last day for most committees to meet and consider bills this session. On Monday, March 25, the House and Senate will begin marathon sessions of floor debate on various bills, punctuated with joint conference committees between the chambers to discuss final language on specific bills. As this year is the second year of our state’s two-year legislative biennium, any bill which does not become law this year will no longer be a live bill. Governor Laura Kelly’s core focus...

20 Mar

Posted at 12:14h in Advocacy, Industry News, Regulatory
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EPA recently agreed with the recommendations of the atrazine Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP), removing several poor-quality studies that played a role in the agency’s recommendation for an ultra-low aquatic level of concern for atrazine. The SAP was held in August 2023 at the request of agriculture groups active in the Triazine Network. The panel considered EPA’s white paper and stakeholder comments to exclude or rescore several questionable studies used to set the aquatic concentration equivalent level of concern (CELOC). “This is good news for farmers across the nation who rely on...

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