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report from npga state director by: Mark Denton
A approved a motion to fi-

s your elected State Director, I wanted to
nance a second round of
provide you with an update on the activities
at the most recent NPGA Board of Directors
funding for the ongoing
meeting held February 6 - 8 in Monterey,
California. The week’s business included Committee lawsuit against the U.S.
Department of Energy in
and Section meetings; a fireside chat about gas bans the District of Columbia
legislation with attorney Sarah Jorgensen; a Propane, Federal Circuit Court re-
Politics, & Coffee presentation on artificial intelligence garding the Commercial
by tech expert Dylan Hoffman; a forklift panel dis- Water Heater Rule, the
cussion; and much more. The PropanePAC hosted an Furnace Rule, and the
event and NPGA recognized Jeff Stewart’s service as Interpretive Rule. The
Chair at the Board of Directors reception on Wednes- committee also discussed Washington state’s litigation
day evening. Here are some of the key policy discus- funding request and reported out to the full Board.
sions and updates from NPGA:
Marketers Section
Young Professionals Council District 3 Director Stephanie Hennen provided

The NPGA Board of Directors formally ap- highlights from the district breakouts. Director Hen-
proved a new business council within NPGA: the Young nen noted that propane provides a clean, cost-effec-
Professionals Council (YPC). The primary goals of the tive fuel that can be used to help states achieve their
YPC are to support the professional development of environmental goals and decarbonization targets.
emerging leaders in the propane industry through Stuart Weidie, Immediate Past Chair of PERC, gave an
education sessions and webinars, to facilitate direct update on PERC activities. Mr. Weidie noted that CETP
access of young professionals to NPGA leadership, and is now accredited by the International Accreditors for
to create a pipeline of voluntary association leaders. Continuing Education and Training (IACET). This accred-
The YPC is aligned with Women in Propane (WIP) and itation is important as PERC continues to discuss the
Young Gassers. The 30-under-30 program will be CETP program with community colleges and vocational
housed within the YPC. The YPC is a formal business schools. The Council is also sponsoring research to
council, has a dues structure similar to WIP, a 5-person better understand the butane content of renewable
steering committee with a dedicated NPGA staff li- propane.
aison, and has membership limited to those 40 and un-
der working for an NPGA member company. The YPC Forklifts Panel
will launch at the 2024 Southeastern Expo in Charlotte. The Marketers Section hosted a forklift panel
discussion featuring industry experts Brian Feehan of
Gas Bans Litigation Fireside Chat the Industrial Truck Association, Jim Rushing of Energy
NPGA President Steve Kaminski hosted a Distribution Partners, and Colin Sueyres of the West-
fireside chat with Sarah Jorgensen, lead legal counsel ern Propane Gas Association. Mr. Feehan highlighted
representing energy choice proponents in the Berkeley trends in the electric and internal combustion (IC) lift
gas bans litigation and NPGA, NYPGA, and others chal- truck marketplace, including the impact that state
lenging the New York state energy law in federal court. regulations have on consumer demand. Colin Sueyres
The two discussed the impact the 9th Circuit decision provided an overview of California’s forklift rulemaking
has on the state and municipal gas bans landscape and and the negative impact it would have on the market-
the current state of the lawsuit in New York. ers who serve forklift accounts, as well as the busi-
nesses that rely on propane-powered forklifts for their
Legal Action Committee operational needs. The panel urged industry members

NPGA’s legal action committee held its first to engage with state associations and legislators to
in-person meeting. The committee discussed updates safeguard against similar restrictive forklift regulations
to seven ongoing lawsuits that NPGA is directly in- that could be pursued in their state. Marketers are
volved in or indirectly playing a role. The committee encouraged to share propane’s positive attributes

10 Alabama Propane Gas Association | March / April 2024