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In late March, Congress passed and President Trump signed a massive $1.3 trillion spending bill. The 2,232-page piece of legislation contained a plethora of policy changes that are important to fuel marketers. There were also a number of policy changes that were not included in the legislation that would have impacted the marketing community.

Key issues important to the truckstop and travel plaza industry include:

• Biodiesel Tax Credit—Congress did not extend the $1/gallon biodiesel blenders’ tax credit for 2018 in the omnibus spending bill. In February Congress retroactively extended the credit for 2017, and it is not likely to consider another extension until after the November elections.

• Small Refinery Waivers—The legislation included a provision encouraging the Department of Energy to liberalize the standard on which it bases its recommendations for small refinery “hardship” waivers to the Environmental Protection Agency under the Renewable Fuel Standard. A small refinery may petition EPA for an exemption from the RFS on the basis that the refinery experiences a disproportionate economic hardship under the RFS. Although this provision in the “omni” may not have the full force of law, it underscores the political power that small refiners have with the current Congress and Administration.

• Electronic Logging Device Mandate—The “omni” included a provision exempting motor carriers that haul livestock from the federal ELD mandate until Sept. 30, 2018.

• Driver Hours-of-Service/Rest Break Requirements—Absent from the bill was a provision sought by many trucking fleets that would have precluded states from implementing meal and rest break requirements for drivers that are different than federal hours-of-service requirements.

• Infrastructure Funding—The “omni” provides $1.5 billion for TIGER Grants that go toward capital investments in surface transportation projects; 30 percent of the money must be directed toward rural projects.

• Truck Size/Weight—The “omni” included a provision allowing for commercial vehicles weighing up to 129,000 pounds to operate along the Interstate System in North Dakota. Under federal law, trucks are limited to 80,000 pounds nationwide.

• Menu Labeling—The convenience store, supermarket and pizza delivery industries had sought legislative changes to make it easier for those businesses to comply with mandatory calorie labeling on menus, but the legislation was not included in the “omni.” The menu labeling mandate is scheduled to take effect in May 2018.

• SNAP (formerly known as Food Stamp) Retailer Eligibility—The “omni” included a provision prohibiting the Food and Nutrition Service from implementing a component of its 2016 regulation augmenting SNAP retailer eligibility standards. The 2016 regulation, among other things, requires SNAP retailers to stock seven different “varieties” (rather than three) of food items in each of the four “staple food” categories. FNS defined “variety” very narrowly, however, making it exceedingly difficult for small-format retailers to stock and sell the sufficient threshold of food items they need to redeem SNAP benefits. The “omni” prevents FNSfrom enforcing the new “variety” requirement until it defines the term “variety” more broadly such that small format retailers can continue participating in SNAP. Until then, the pre-2016 variety requirements will remain in effect.

• Restaurant Tip Credits—The legislation repealed a 2011 regulation that attempted to prohibit back-of-the-house staff from participating in “tip pools” in restaurants where employers did not take a tip credit. This is a positive development for the many travel centers that have full-service sit-down restaurants. The Department of Labor is moving forward with a necessary clarification over a provision that bars some “managers” and “supervisors” from participating in a tip-pool.

• Joint Employer—The legislation did not include a provision supported by the employer community designed to provide more certainty surrounding the so-called “joint employer” standard. The joint employer standard thus remains murky and uncertain, potentially exposing employers to frivolous lawsuits from plaintiffs’ lawyers.

• E-Cigarette/Vaping Regulations—Despite intense pressure from the tobacco industry to change the Food and Drug Administration’s so-called “Deeming Regulations,” the “omni” did not change those rules. Since it was not included in the bill, manufacturers of e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems have until August 2022 to submit pre-market applications for approval of products already on the market.

Photo credit: Carol Jean Stalun/NATSO

NATSO

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