Posts for February 28, 2010

LEGISLATION ADVANCES AS SESSION NEARS END

February 27, 2010 – “UMA on the Hill”

HEALTHCARE REFORM:
Among the many bills advancing through the 2010 legislature is the package of healthcare reform bills developed through a collaborative effort over the past couple years. The effort is focused on creating a more user-friendly program in Utah to avoid what many believe is a flawed effort in Congress to establish a nationalized program to be imposed on states across the country. Utah is well ahead of other states in creating a system that will give consumers choices and begin to reduce pressure on costs for healthcare. The package has passed the House of Representatives and has been approved by a Senate Committee for consideration by the full Senate. This is a high priority effort for leadership in both houses.

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY:
Numerous bills addressing environmental issues are among the nearly 1000 bills being considered by lawmakers this year. Some are critical to maintaining environmental program primacy by Utah Department of Environmental Quality and to timely consideration of permits for business and industry.

HB- 331 cleared a House committee this week and reported favorably to the floor. It is essential to re-establishing the Environmental Quality Restricted Account to a solvent position and stopping the siphoning off of funds for unrelated state purposes. This account funds permitting efforts. It establishes that those seeking permits can assist in keeping the process in schedule by contracting with DEQ to use outside specialists to prepare permits. This is a must pass bill.

HB-456 – Amendments to Department of Environmental Quality, would add two new members to the Air Quality Board, one public health official and one transportation representative. This is an ill-advised effort since the boards are already too large and this and other boards are in desperate need of a comprehensive overhaul. The bill was reported out of committee on a sympathy vote from a couple representatives but can be held up until the end of the session on March 11.

SB-223 – DEQ Board Amendments, requested by UMA would require all members of the four DEQ policy boards to have expertise in the areas they regulate. It also would clarify which functions at DEQ are board and which are Executive Director functions. Having gotten the attention of DEQ and the environmental community, sponsor Senator Dayton requested the bill be referred to interim study, at UMA’s request. UMA has agreed with DEQ to not only have the UMA environment committee review the structure and function of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality but also take a comprehensive look at the structure and function of the environmental policy boards with the intent to recommend changes to the 2011 legislature.

HB-153, Recycling of Electronic Items, Rep. Edwards, failed to be reported out of the House Business Labor Committee on early in the week but has been put back on the agenda for Monday. UMA has resisted this poorly drafted bill because it places the funding burden on manufacturers of electronic devices. While no consumer electronic device manufacturers produce in Utah, component part manufacturers, such as micro chip manufacturers, are concerned it may expand in the future to include them in the funding circle. UMA is calling for a legitimate effort to develop a voluntary program to recycle electronic devices to keep them out of the landfill. Sanitary landfills, especially in Salt Lake County are asking for others to subsidize their efforts to remove these devices from their landfills.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES:
Lawmakers are responding favorably to efforts by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and industry to shift the focus of incentive dollars toward companies already doing business in Utah who need assistance to expand in Utah. Three bills are progressing through the process with good support.
HB-24 – Economic Development Incentives Act Amendments, sponsored by Rep. Wallis, helps clear the way for companies making significant investments in economic development ($10,000) to receive incentive money for expansion. HB-24 has passed the House and is waiting for consideration in the Senate.
HB-118 will help make Industrial Assistance Funds available to companies involved in consolidations, mergers and acquisitions to help retain Utah employees and the business in Utah. It passed the House and has been reported out of the Senate Business and Labor Committee for a vote by the Senate. UMA is supporting this and other incentive bills.
SB-198 also addressed economic development incentives but with a narrow focus on “pass through” companies that are otherwise not eligible for industrial assistance funds because of a technicality. Under this bill, they will be able to get assistance through local government entities reimbursed by the state fund.

WORKERS COMPENSATION:
SB-231, Medical Benefits Under Workers Compensation, Sen. Chris Buttars, is a thinly veiled attempt to correct a situation for a Senate staff person who was denied medical benefits because she did not follow the details of a law passed in 2007 that requires that an injured person must visit a doctor at least once every three years for ongoing conditions resulting from the injury. Failure to do so, cancels future benefits. The original bill proposed a very broad remedy but amendments to the bill in committee has narrowed the remedy to a more manageable position. With the bill amended in committee, UMA has withdrawn opposition.

MANDATES:
A perennial entry in all legislatures is the introduction of mandates. Most common among mandate bills are those affecting medical insurance. 2010 is no different. Mandates are alive and well this year.
HB-66, Prosthetic Limb Health Insurance Parity, seeks to pay for prosthetic limbs on the same basis as Medicare. The problem with such mandates is that it places the burden on 30% of the employers who are non-ERISA employers and raises the cost of medical insurance. A House committee reported it out to the floor for a vote. Whether it can muster enough support to survive sifting and be debated remains to be seen. It has a long way to go in less than two weeks.
SB-251, Verification of Employment Eligibility, Senator Chris Buttars, was a surprise to most everyone when it suddenly appeared with language on Thursday and assigned to committee on Friday morning. It is a comprehensive mandate that all Utah employers use what has been a voluntary employment verification program E-Verify. It is not only a mandate but also imposes criminal penalties for not using the program. UMA testified in the committee that a recent study commissioned by U.S. Homeland Security to evaluate E-Verify reports that it passes potential employees who are not eligible to work in the U.S. 54% of the time. While it get it right for those who are legal 93% of the time it is a miserable failure for the real purpose of the program.

The sponsor and supporters argue they are really interested in preventing identity theft of children. While Senators on the committee admitted it goes too far with penalties and fines and is too all encompassing, they passed the bill to the floor with the caveat that the sponsor get with business leaders to find some middle ground that will be more acceptable. UMA is working with other members of the Utah Business Coalition to substantially modify the bill to make it livable. Efforts are underway to rewrite SB-251 if the sponsor is amenable to reasonable changes. Failing a substantial rewrite, an all out effort will be mounted to defeat the bill.

A mandate to require employers to make accommodations for nursing mothers to express breast milk during work hours, was the subject of late committee meeting on Friday evening but was rejected by the House Business Labor Committee following arguments that this is just trying to mandate common sense. Despite support by IHC and the Employers Council, the bill failed 7-4 and will not be heard by the full House.

Just a week and a half left in this general session. It is likely both the House and Senate will wipe the calendars and begin the process of prioritizing bills to be considered during the balance of the session. Between the Rules Committee and leadership, bills will be reported out for consideration in small numbers. When the budget is final, fiscal note bills will be given high priority if they have made the cut for funding. The finish line is in sight and the sprint is on. That sprint leaves many lower priority bills behind and elevates priority bills deemed supported by the majority caucus.

U.S. ECONOMY'S 4Q GROWTH LIKELY TO FADE

February 27, 2010 – Today in Manufacturing.net
Economy rocketed ahead at 5.9 percent pace in final quarter 2009 -- stronger than initially estimated -- but the growth spurt isn't expected to carry over into this year... continue the article at this link http://www.manufacturing.net/article.aspx?id=244068

NAM FILES SUIT AGAINS EPA’S ENDANGERMENT FINDING

February 27, 2010 - NAM

On February 16, the NAM and seven other associations filed a suit against the EPA challenging its “endangerment” finding relating to greenhouse gas regulation. EPA found that greenhouse gas emissions contribute to air pollution that is reasonably anticipated to endanger the public health and welfare and should be regulated. Many other organizations filed their own challenges as well.

Your company or your industry’s association may want to intervene. Intervention requires a motion to the court by March 18, and intervenors allowed by the court will be able to fully participate in the case. If you would like more information about this possibility, please plan to attend an explanatory meeting on Monday, March 1, at 2:30 pm EST. We have arranged for our outside counsel to facilitate your participation as an intervenor, as long as you are comfortable with our approach to the legal issues. Even if you are not interested in intervening, this meeting will bring you up-to-date on the litigation.

Please contact Pam Roper at proper@nam.org to R.S.V.P. The agenda, dial-in information and other meeting materials will be provided by COB Friday, February 26th, to those who cannot attend in person.

HEALTHCARE SUMMIT WRAP-UP

February 27, 2010 - Jeri Kubicki-NAM

Health reform was center stage this week with two key emerging themes: the Administration is keen on passing a comprehensive health bill soon, and yesterday’s health summit did little to advance a bipartisan reform effort but instead energized House and Senate Democrats around an agenda largely based on the President’s plan published earlier this week. Though the President called on Republicans to help pass a bill in the next six weeks with no intention to “start fresh”, as Republicans have requested, the use of budget reconciliation as the key vehicle for reform is very likely.

Senate
One of the more interesting comments during the summit was Senator Reid’s (D-NV) declaration that no one is talking about reconciliation – a move that has been discussed in detail and at great length, including on television by Senator Reid last weekend when he stated that reform could get done in 60 days. Meanwhile, Senators Lincoln (D-AR) and Snowe, two of the moderate Senators who are favorable toward reform but not fully on board with the current proposals, are calling for a small bipartisan group of pro-reform Senators to sit down and come up with a solution, specifically one focused on small business.

House
Speaker Pelosi (D-CA), meanwhile, commented favorably on the President’s plan, which is a derivation of the Senate plan she insisted could not pass the House last month. Accounting for the current vacancies, 217 votes are needed to pass a bill. Last time, the Democrats mustered 220 votes, but without the support of anti-abortion advocates or the lone Republican who supported the measure -- Rep. Cao (R-LA) -- there is uncertainty as to whether sufficient votes are available to pass a bill. However, some Blue Dogs who voted against the House bill are likely to vote for the President’s plan, which is more conservative that the bill passed in the House.

Administration
The President’s blueprint for reform released on Monday is largely based on the Senate-passed bill with some tweaks – including increased subsidies for individuals and states to cover Medicaid expansions, increased exemptions under the “Cadillac tax”, applying the Medicare HI tax to unearned income for couples earning over $250,000, and a new federal Health Insurance Risk Authority, charged with reviewing premium increases by insurance companies.

While this week’s health summit helped uncover some basic areas of bipartisan agreement on health reform (insurance reform, preventing denial of insurance based on pre-existing conditions), major tactical differences on key issues continue to divide Congress (the best way to spur competition across state lines and implement medical malpractice reform, the Congressional Budget Office’s interpretation of current health plan costs, etc). While a specific action plan on how to move forward was not developed before the summit’s close, clearly some form of action on health reform is likely to occur soon.

AUTO SALES EXPECTED TO RECOVER THIS YEAR

February 27, 2010 – Today in Manufacturing.net

Report from Scotia Economics says sales of cars and light trucks in North America will rise above 13 million units by the end of 2010, up from 11.9 million units last year... continue the article at this link http://www.manufacturing.net/article.aspx?id=244074