ASA SENDS OUT ALERT: ASA members recently received an “urgent action alert” regarding legislation potentially exposing you to a broader range of “wage discrimination” lawsuits. If enacted, S 1843/HR 2831 will effectively eliminate the current statute of limitations and expand the current law to allow family members and others “affected by” alleged discrimination to file claims. The alert requested that ASA members contact their two US Senators — as of today, 16 of the 100 Senators have received a letter from ASA members. That is a good start, but we need many more Senators to hear from you! Please contact your Senators today.
CALIFORNIA LEAD BILL: ASA is supporting efforts by the Plumbing Manufacturers Institute (PMI) to enact legislation (SB 651) in California to clarify the state law prohibiting the use of any pipe, pipe or plumbing fitting or fixture, solder, or flux that is not lead free. In a letter to the California Senate Committee on Environmental Quality, Inge Calderon, former ASA Executive Vice President, stated that clear interpretation of the language of the California law is necessary to ensure that all participants have a fair and equitable opportunity to compete and that there are no unnecessary disruptions to the supply chain. “SB 651 will accomplish these clarifications in a manner consistent with and in furtherance of the objectives of the law,” said Calderon. SB 651 is pending in Committee.
- ASA’s letter is here. As a result of the letter, ASA is included in the list of organizations supporting the legislation in the Committee’s analysis of the legislation.
ASA URGES COMMITTEE TO FUND WATER PROJECTS: In testimony submitted to the Senate Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Security, and Water Quality Subcommittee, ASA President Joel Becker thanked the Subcommittee for holding the hearing on “America’s Wastewater Infrastructure Needs” and urged the Subcommittee to create a clean water trust fund. In his statement, Joel told the Subcommittee such a fund “...would enable consumers to make more efficient use of treated water, including incentives for the modification, retirement, or replacement of customer-owned water-using equipment, appliances, plumbing fixtures and fittings...” Becker also told the Subcommittee that “a dedicated trust fund for clean water will ensure that infrastructure modernization and maintenance remains a priority.” The House has already passed water projects funding legislation which includes language requiring a one-year study to determine potential sources of funding for a clean water trust fund. Senate Subcommittee staff has told ASA similar legislation could be introduced in the Senate yet this year.
COURT DECISION ON HOS RULES: On October 1, the Washington, DC Court of Appeals granted a 90-day stay of its mandate to eliminate the 11-hour driving day and 34-hour reset from the hours-of-service (HOS) rules for truck drivers. The decision means the existing rules will remain in effect until December 27. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has until then to convince the Court not to reduce drivers’ hours from the current 11-hours to 10 and to eliminate the 34-hour restart provision, which allows drivers to restart their week after 34-hours off time. The American Trucking Association had filed a motion with the Court asking for an eight month period to allow the FMCSA to conduct a rulemaking on the 11- and 34-hour provisions of the rule.
”NO-MATCH” RULES DELAYED: On October 1, a federal judge in San Francisco extended for 10 days a temporary ban prohibiting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from implementing the new “no-match” regulations applicable to employers who hire illegal immigrants. In an unusual alliance, business associations joined labor unions in suing the DHS over the plan that could lead companies to fire workers whose Social Security numbers do not match up with their names in a federal data base. Business groups contend the rule would cost them at least $100 million to resolve employment verification discrepancies that the government is expected to flag in its first mailing of 140,000 letters to employers covering 8.7 million employees. The business community claims the rule should not be implemented arguing that the government failed to consider the new regulation's impact on small business. The rule lays out steps employers can take to protect themselves from civil or criminal sanctions if a discrepancy cannot be resolved in 90 days. After that, employers must terminate the worker or risk being charged with breaking immigration laws. The rule was originally scheduled to take effect September 14, 2007.
MOTOR CARRIER FEES: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently published initial fees for 2007 and a fee bracket structure for the Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) agreement. The UCR replaces the Single State Registration System (SSRS). One important change from the old system is that under the UCR, private companies as well as for-hire carriers must pay the registration fee. The purpose of the UCR is to facilitate individual state requirements for the registration and collection of fees from interstate motor carriers.
- The regulation is available here.
- Additional information on the UCR is available here.
LEAD IN DRINKING WATER: In an effort to reduce lead in drinking water, the EPA has issued a final rule they believe will improve requirements in the areas of monitoring, customer awareness and lead service line replacement. Specifically, the EPA rule requires water suppliers to provide consumers with information to help them make decisions about how to limit their exposure to lead in drinking water. The final rule is one outcome of EPA's March 2005 Drinking Water Lead Reduction Plan which arose from EPA's analysis of the current regulation and state and local implementation. Since release of the plan, the agency has released guidance to help public water systems better understand the potential impacts of treatment changes on their ability to control lead and asked the National Drinking Water Advisory Council to provide recommendations on public education requirements.
- A copy of the rule and more information on lead in drinking water is here.
