Iowa Renewable Fuel Infrastructure Grant Program

By Ronald N. Langston, President & CEO FUELIowa

Tort Reform

The 2023 session of the Iowa General Assembly adjourned on May 4, and I wanted to share a message with each of you as to how it turned out while outlining important steps in the interim ahead of the 2024 session which begins next January.

Each legislative session presents unique challenges and opportunities for trade organizations like FUELIowa, requiring an ability to be nimble within a larger framework of policy priorities. Going into the session, FUELIowa had a singular focus on persuading the General Assembly to invest more resources into the Renewable Fuel Infrastructure Program (RFIP). Parallel to this legislative focus was an effort to establish task forces to explore executive branch reforms within the Iowa Alcohol Beverage Division (ABD) and Iowa Lottery Authority (Lottery) to facilitate public policy with the potential to lower costs inside convenience stores. I will report on these executive branch initiatives in future editions of the Insider, but today my focus is on the results of FUELIowa’s 2023 legislative effort.

FUELIowa was successful in adding significant resources to the RFIP program for the third year in a row. The total appropriation into the RFIP was successfully increased by another 50% to a total of $15 million. This represents a fivefold increase over the $3 million funding level only three years ago. While this represents tremendous progress, further work is required to ensure that these public resources keep pace with actual costs driven by recent public policy decisions and inflation. Higher individual grant awards and eliminating the only E85 equipment requirement in the country remain key priorities for the 2024 legislative session.

Property Tax Reform

The General Assembly passed historic property tax reform, estimated to save taxpayers upwards of $100 million annually. In addition to this tax reform, FUELIowa joined the Iowa Institute for Cooperatives and the Iowa Propane Association in seeking to codify the Iowa Court of Appeals decision in the McDermott property tax assessment matter involving above ground storage tanks. Though FUELIowa was successful in getting HF 206 passed in the Iowa House by an overwhelming bipartisan result of 92-6, the effort stalled in the final hours of the session in the Iowa Senate and will remain a priority during the 2024 legislative session.

FUELIowa and a coalition of other trade organizations succeeded in advocating for passage of the first commercial vehicle lawsuit reform legislation in the nation after an exhaustive five-year effort. This legislation places a cap on noneconomic damage awards in accidents involving commercial motor vehicles.

The legislation also makes Iowa the only state in the nation to limit noneconomic damages in direct negligence actions based on negligent hiring of drivers of commercial motor vehicles who are involved in accidents. These reforms will slow the spike in premiums for commercial auto policies covering member vehicles.

Tobacco

Several pieces of legislation dealing with tobacco were considered during the 2023 session. FUELIowa was successful in defeating a tax increase on certain tobacco items, including vape products, for the third consecutive session. In addition to stopping this tax increase, FUELIowa also stopped legislation that would have given a broad category of public safety officials (including firefighters) the right to inspect all areas of a convenience store for tobacco tax violations without a subpoena.

Lessons Learned and Next Steps

FUELIowa came away with several important victories during the 2023 legislative session, but significant work remains to tackle challenges which face members. In addition to softening the impact of expensive infrastructure investment, FUELIowa will continue to work on further reforms aimed at improving the bottom line of all members. sincerely thank the FUELIowa members who contributed their time, talent, and treasure in assisting the FUELIowa Board of Directors and staff in actively pursuing the 2023 legislative priorities. I want to additionally thank Marc Beltrame, John Hirl, and John Maynes for their assistance in the production of the President’s message.

With your commitment to the association and the Iowa retail fuel industry, we are emboldened to continue regardless of the odds, obstacles, or challenges.