b'2020-21 Officers & Directors IDAHO Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association State ReportIPM&CSA 2020 The Summer of Shut DownIDAHO GOVERNOR INNOVATES IN A PANDEMICWill we be waiting til Thanksgiving for Governor Little Rolls Out Programs to Help the results? Lets hope not, but stand Federal COVID Money Supports Business, Local Government,by, because the dust hasnt settled on Unemployed. Heres a summary of unique Idaho programs de- this issue yet.Idaho Insider veloped to support Idahoans (data as of July 31, 2020): 2021 LEGISLATURE I daho Rebound Cash Grants for Small Businesses How Do They Conduct BusinessMore than $75 million given to more than 8,700 Idaho smallin a Pandemic?Suzanne Budge businesses in cash payments of up to $10,000. No big surprise here either, butIPM&CSAExecutive Directorwe dont really know how things at Local Government Authority to Support Businessesthe Statehouse are going to work More than $94 million to local governments.come 2021. Will masks be re- Return to Work Incentivesquired? Can hearings be conducted virtually? How do people testify More than 26,000 employees received $25.7 million in returnand communicate with elected to work bonuses, with more than 4,300 employers who appliedofficials? Will the public even be on behalf of their workers. allowed in the building? Legisla- PPE for Small Businessestive leadership has approved funds4,233 orders of masks, gloves and sanitizer worth $1,082,150.to improve technology in the Capi-Public Safety Initiativetol, but it remains to be seen how 10 to 20% one-time reduction in property taxes for participat- that will work for those of us who ing cities or counties who commit to use federal funds to coverarent legislators, but need to talk local public safety and pass on savings to taxpayers.to them to explain how what they do impacts us? Access to lawmak-ers is vital to effective advocacy. IDAHO POLITICAL LANDSCAPE Your personal relationship withThe Shifting Sands of an Emergency your representative is more impor-Primary Elections Go All Absentee tant than ever, so please dont missIf there was a single move that rockedan opportunity to connect. the Idaho State-house early in theIDAHOemergency, it was the decision to go to allWeights and Measures mail in ballots for Idahos primary election. Changing the dates and the process, deci- RULEMAKING sions made by Governor Little, SecretaryIdaho Fees are Changingof State Denny and later a federal judge, Heres What you Need to Knowcaused more than a little consternation with legislators, andThe Idaho Department of Agriculture picked up where started a broader conversation about who has what authoritythey left off in 2019 to continue their effort to raise fees in the during a declared emergency. A related battle involves initiativesWeights and Measures Program. Although the process isnt final, and how signatures can be gathered during lock down. This onewe believe we have pushed back successfully to prevent the has already taken Idaho to the Supreme Court. Expect to seeoriginal proposal to double device fees from the current $6 to these and other crazy new issues play out in the next legislative$12. The latest proposal phases in a fee increase over three years session, be it a special session called by the Governor (which isbeginning in 2022, and gradually increases fees from $7 to $8 in question) or when lawmakers return in January 2021.per device, in 2024. We have also stood firm in advocating for Novembera 50/50 funding split between industry fees and State General General Fund dollars. The Weights and Measures program fundamen-Elections tally protects Idahos consumers above all, and we have and will Still up in continue to make that case to elected officials. the Air And the jury is still out on exactly how the November General Elections will work.SWill polling places be open? Will the dates be changed (again)? WPMA News / Autumn 202029'