MidStates HPBA State Code Coordinators
State Code Coordinators watch current legislative and regulatory issues which impact the industry in your area.
Michigan State Code Coordinators
Bruce MacDowell
MacDowell's
228 South Bridge St.
Grand Ledge, MI 48837
Phone : 517-627-9400
Fax : 517-627-3344
Bob Marcell
Marcell's Specialties
1810 6th St.
Wausau, MI 54403
Phone: 715-848-5194
Fax : 715-842-4730
Email: burnd2@charter.com
Ohio State Code Coordinators
Greg Hill
Hearthland Sales
2682 Graybill Road
Uniontown, OH 44685
Phone: 330-354-6616
Fax: 330-699-6938
Email: ghill26388@aol.com
Brian Sauer
The Fire Place, Inc.
5413 Dixie Highway
Fairfield, OH 45014
Phone : 513-829-8530
Fax: 513-829-8531
Email: nksauer@cinci.rr.com
Kentucky State Code Coordinator
Tom Raver
Fireplace Distributors
5810 Fern Valley Rd.
Lousiville, KY 40228
Phone: 502-964-5996
Fax: 502-964-0091
Email: tom@fireplacedist.com
West Virginia State Code Coordinator
Robert Jones
Hamer Pellet Fuel Co.
PO Box 418
Kenova, WV 25530
Phone: 304-453-6381
Fax: 304-453-6587
December 2007 Legislative Update
HPBA protecting hearth industry interests
Farm Bill
The Senate passed the 2007 Farm Bill on Friday by a vote of 79-14.
Included in the Farm Bill is the Community Wood Energy Program, which would authorize a grant program for state and local governments and communities to use low-grade wood biomass in community wood energy systems for state and locally owned businesses such as schools, town halls, and courthouses.
The Senate’s approval of the five-year, $286 billion Farm Bill (H.R.
2419) clears the way for a House-Senate conference, where lawmakers will have to reach compromise agreements on a variety of issues. Conferees will also have to consider objections from the White House. We will continue to monitor the legislation.
Energy Bill
The Senate passed comprehensive energy legislation (H.R. 6) last week by a vote of 86-8, after removing the majority of the tax section of the final bill. In that section our industry had a provision for a $300 tax credit for installing a pellet stove, but it was not included in the final bill.
The House is expected to clear the bill, despite the Senate’s changes to it, and the President is expected to sign it.
Unfortunately, included in the Energy Bill is a provision on regional standards for energy efficiency for furnaces. This provision would authorize the Department of Energy (DOE) to prescribe regional minimum efficiency standards for furnaces (but not boilers). DOE is authorized to prescribe one regional furnace standard in addition to a base national standard. Regional boundaries are to include only contiguous states (but also may include Hawaii and Alaska), and states may not be split. This section directs DOE to publish an enforcement plan for any regional standard within 15 months after DOE publishes its final rule prescribing the regional standard and also directs the Federal Trade Commission to set appropriate labeling rules to aid the enforcement of a regional standard within 15 months after DOE publishes its final rule establishing the regional standard. It will be illegal for any manufacturer or private labeler “to knowingly sell a product to a distributor, contractor or dealer with knowledge that the entity routinely violates any regional standard applicable to the product.”
This provision was an industry brokered and supported compromise.
On a good note, the onerous building codes provision was dropped from the bill due to overwhelming opposition from building and manufacturing sectors, including HPBA. This is great news for our industry.
