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12 Mar

Posted at 10:30h in Industry News
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Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association (KARA) mourns the March 10, 2024 passing of Jerry Joseph Martin, 69, of Salina, Kansas. Martin was a longstanding member of KARA throughout his time working with LDI, highlighted by the association awarding him with its Distinguished Service Award in 2012. The excerpt below was written for Martin’s Distinguished Service Award recognition. Born in Salina, Martin spent much of his childhood helping on his grandfather’s farm near Solomon. This started his love for agriculture at a very young age. After graduating high school in 1972, he went to...

08 Mar

Posted at 15:46h in Advocacy
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During the ninth week of the 2024 legislative session, Senate Republicans introduced a new comprehensive tax bill and have already set it for hearing next week. Likewise, House leadership is discussing another attempt at comprehensive tax legislation, and it looks like they might use Governor Laura Kelly’s tax bill as the vehicle. The extent of any such tax package is likely to be scaled back a bit as this week it was announced that the state had missed its revenue projections for the fifth consecutive month. Also, this week, the Senate...

01 Mar

Posted at 17:47h in Advocacy
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Following Turnaround Week in the Kansas legislature, the second half of the legislative session began with a slow start. Last week, the Republican tax cut plan died when Governor Laura Kelly vetoed it and the House failed to override the veto. In similar fashion, the governor's tax cut proposal is effectively dead, as the Senate gutted its version of the bill and House Republicans redirected the House version to a committee that never meets. Next steps toward any large tax relief package this session are uncertain at best, which may impact...

01 Mar

Posted at 10:20h in Regulatory
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On March 1, 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized amendments to the Risk Management Program aimed at protecting at-risk communities from chemical accidents with emphasis on those located near facilities in industry sectors with high accident rates. The “Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention Rule” includes EPA’s most protective safety provisions for chemical facilities in history, requiring stronger measures for prevention, preparedness, and public transparency. The rule protects the health and safety of all communities by requiring industry to prevent accidental releases of dangerous chemicals that could otherwise cause...

23 Feb

Posted at 17:57h in Advocacy
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This is Turnaround Week of the Kansas legislature, where most bills (with some exceptions) must be passed by their chamber of origin in order to remain alive for further consideration. In a flurry of floor debate on Wednesday and Thursday, the House and Senate voted on dozens of bills. In addition, the legislature finally attempted an override this week of Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of House Bill 2284, the legislature’s tax bill that includes a single-rate personal income tax. The House failed, by three votes, to override the veto. While the...

20 Feb

Posted at 13:53h in Industry News, Regulatory
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On Feb. 20, 2024, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a safety advisory to provide notice of the possibility of catastrophic failure of certain hazardous materials packages, commonly known as "nurse tanks." See Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (49 CFR) §173.315(m). The current Hazardous Materials Regulations (49 CFR Parts 171-180) do not require periodic inspection and testing of nurse tanks that have attached and legible American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) identification plates and that meet the other requirements in 49...

16 Feb

Posted at 14:35h in Advocacy
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The Legislature, again this week, failed to take up an override vote on Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of the tax bill House Bill 2284. That vote to override will need to come by the end of next week or the governor’s veto of the bill will be sustained. Committees this week approved and advanced bills before multiple days of floor debate begin next week as we near the legislative ‘turnaround’. In both chambers, various bills have now been introduced that would limit foreign investment in real property in the state. As...

09 Feb

Posted at 17:31h in Advocacy
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The Republican-majority legislature failed, this week, to take up an override vote on Governor Kelly’s veto of the tax bill, House Bill 2284. That vote is expected to come early next week. Whether, or in what form, tax relief is passed this year is still an unanswered question. This week, committees continued hearings on unemployment insurance legislation, workers compensation max benefits, various tax bills, and other issues. One issue gaining momentum in Kansas, and other states, is the issue of limiting foreign investment in real property in the state. A handful...

02 Feb

Posted at 17:20h in Advocacy
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Following Governor Laura Kelly’s swift veto of the Republican tax bill, House Bill 2284, legislative leadership worked this week to whip together sufficient votes for an override effort which will require a 2/3 supermajority vote in both the House and the Senate. The bill includes many provisions, but the key element distinguishing the bill from Governor Kelly’s tax plan is the inclusion of a single rate income tax at 5.25 percent (currently two rates exist). This provision was the cause of the governor’s veto. The bill would cost the state...

02 Feb

Posted at 14:01h in Advocacy, Industry News, Regulatory
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On Friday, Feb. 2, 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an update on the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on food. EPA has issued a technical correction in the Federal Register reflecting the Eighth Circuit Court's decision to vacate EPA's 2021 rule revoking chlorpyrifos tolerances. Since the tolerances are currently in effect, growers can now use currently registered chlorpyrifos products on all crops with reinstated tolerances, consistent with directions for use on those product labels. However, such uses may be subject to restrictions by individual states. Any existing final...

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