FDA Tobacco Markup April 2nd

Fuel Prices Could Hit Record Highs This Summer

Several States Fail To Meet SIP Guidelines

EPA Will Seek Comment On Regulating GHG Emissions

Sheetz To Speak at SIGMA Spring Convention

SIGMA Share Groups: IT and HR

Spring Convention Tours

FDA TOBACCO MARKUP APRIL 2
The House Energy and Commerce Committee will have mark-up on April 2 on a revised bill granting the Food and Drug Administration with regulatory authority over the manufacture and retailing of tobacco. Thank you to those who have been contacting their representatives. We still need more calls to the Energy and Commerce Committee as soon as possible.  Tell them that you have no problems with FDA regulating the manufacturing of tobacco, but that the legislation's provisions on retail sales unfairly threaten your livelihood, are unworkable, and are generally inequitable. 

Please convey this message: the retail provisions of H.R. 1108 will less effective than the current system of state regulation and are unfair.  Every state already regulates tobacco sales and this system has shown improvement every year for the last decade.  Urge these Congressmen (or their staffs) to fix the retail provisions or eliminate them altogether.  More information on the bill and SIGMA's position can be found in our Legislative Issues Book. Please click on the following links to the House Energy and Commerce Committee Members and their contact information;  and refer to these documents (1) talking points for telephone conversations with the Members or their staff (ask for the "health staffer"); (2) NACS' testimony from October on the bill for background; and, (3) the latest "Synar report," firmly establishing that teenage smoking is in decline. If you’d like SIGMA to fax you these documents, please call 703-709-7000. SIGMA will report on any outcomes of the mark up as soon as any information becomes available.

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FUEL PRICES COULD HIT RECORD HIGHS THIS SUMMER
On Mar. 26, an economist with the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) released a report that said consumers could be facing the most expensive summer ever, despite declining demand, a sluggish economy, high gasoline inventory levels, and more volumes of cheaper ethanol for blending. CFA warned that refiners could raise the pump price 75 cents per gallon by Memorial Day if they decide to cut back on production. According to the report, the next two months will be crucial to determining how high gasoline prices will go for the peak summer driving season. Various surveys have reported record gasoline prices in recent weeks. Unfortunately, record crude oil prices over $100 per barrel in recent weeks have not been factored completely through the gasoline market, analysts say. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts an average West Texas Intermediate crude oil price over May and June of about $97 per barrel; each additional dollar in the oil price adds about 2.4 cents to gasoline prices at the pump. EIA noted in its March 26 weekly petroleum report that the current refinery utilization rate is 82 percent--the lowest since the widespread damage caused to Gulf Coast refineries by Hurricane Katrina in October 2005.

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SEVERAL STATES FAIL TO MEET SIP GUIDELINES
Thirteen states or territories failed to satisfy basic program requirements for state implementation plans (SIPs) needed to comply with national ambient air quality standards for ground-level ozone, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  said in a notice scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on March 27. States and territories that failed to make submissions are: Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, North Dakota, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Texas, Vermont, and Washington. The agency also found that another 20 states and the District of Columbia submitted plans that satisfied some, but not all, of the basic program requirements. Those states are: Arkansas, California, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Virgin Islands, Virginia, and West Virginia. The results are part of the EPA's "completeness findings" for states and territories required to submit regulatory plans for meeting the eight-hour ozone standard of .08 part per million. The state implementation plans, or SIPs, are required under the Clean Air Act for implementing new or revised air quality standards. EPA findings pertain to modeling, monitoring, emissions inventories, and other "infrastructure requirements" that states must submit for meeting the eight-hour ozone standard. The EPA notice initiates a two-year deadline for the agency to issue a "federal implementation plan," or FIP, in the absence of a state plan. For states that submitted incomplete plans, the FIP would apply only to the specific SIP elements that were missing, according to the notice. To avoid a federal implementation plan, a state must make a submission and have it approved by EPA within the two-year period.

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EPA WILL SEEK COMMENT ON REGULATING GHG EMISSIONS
On Mar. 27, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson told Congress that he will take the first formal step toward regulating greenhouse gas emissions using the agency's existing authority by requesting public comment on the issue. In the letter, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson said he has directed agency staff to draft an advance notice of proposed rulemaking "to discuss and solicit public opinion" on a host of issues. The advance notice will be published later this spring in the Federal Register and be followed by a public comment period. According to Johnson, in the advance notice, EPA will present and request comment on the best available science including specific and quantifiable effects of greenhouse gases relevant to making an endangerment finding and the implications of this finding with regard to the regulation of both mobile and stationary sources. Johnson's decision comes nearly a year after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Bush administration's contention that it lacked the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles (Massachusetts v. EPA).
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SHEETZ TO SPEAK AT SIGMA SPRING CONVENTION
Stan Sheetz, president and CEO of Sheetz, Inc., will be a keynote speaker at the 2008 SIGMA Spring Convention in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Sheetz will address the State of the Industry as CEO of one of the fastest growing C-store chains in the country at the Business Meeting & General Session during SIGMA’s Spring Convention on Tuesday morning, May 20th. Recently in January 2008, Sheetz was named one of the most influential people in retail by Chain Store Age which recognizes the dedication of men and women in retail. The 2008 SIGMA Spring Convention will be held at the Westin Hilton Head Island Resort and Spa. For registration and other information, call (703) 709-7000 or visit SIGMA’s web site at www.sigma.org.
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SIGMA SHARE GROUPS: IT AND HR
IT unite and join your peers on June 18-19 in New Orleans, LA, and address the strategic issues around IT, including planning, outsourcing, optimizing applications, network security and how to buy solutions effectively. As an option, arrive a day early and join other volunteers and work on a Habitat for Humanity house in New Orleans and assist in their efforts to rebuild New Orleans.  In September there will be an HR Share Group-- HRCI certified for up to 8.25 CE's.  Details can be found at www.sigma.org.  Click on the Share Group link.
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SPRING CONVENTION TOURS

You won’t want to miss some of the exciting tours and events we have planned for the SIGMA Spring Convention in Hilton Head this May.  Sign up today! Go to www.sigma.org for more information or call 703-709-7000. The Spring Convention will be held at the Westin Hilton Head Island Resort. Don’t forget to make your room reservations as soon as possible!

Motor Fuel Outlet Tour
Sunday, May 18, 2008; 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Whenever SIGMA has the opportunity, we take a busload of folks around the area to see interesting and worthwhile retail sites.  With the help of some local SIGMA members, we’ve put together a tour for this meeting. 

Spouse Tour – Historic Honey Horn Plantation
Monday, May 19, 2008; 1:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. 

Separate fee & sign-up; Cost:  $60.00

(Minimum 20 participants, maximum 35)

The land that is known as Honey Horn has a rich history that reflects the Lowcountry. The land was once home to cash crops prior to the Civil War. This Plantation is one of the most beautiful areas on Hilton Head Island. The 68-acre site has a newly-renovated historic building that houses its permanent and temporary exhibits, a gift store and a community meeting room. Walking tours of the property will address the history of the site and the beautiful flora and fauna found there.

SIGMA Theme Dinner – A Carolina Clambake
Upgrades for Bars and Entertainment sponsored by Quantum Services and Colonial Oil Industries
Monday, May 19, 2008; 6:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Cost:  $105.00

Come and eat with us!  Tickets are priced to cover the cost of food and beverage for the dinner.  With the help of our sponsor we’ll create the perfect Carolina Clambake atmosphere, upgrade the food and beverages and add entertainment.  It’s the perfect evening to relax and enjoy yourself with your peers!  The evening will start with cocktails, followed by dinner and entertainment.  “Resort Casual” is the dress code for this spectacular event! 

Marine Corps Base at Parris Island Tour
Tuesday, May 20, 2008; 12:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Welcome to the Marine Corps!  The bus ride to Parris Island takes between 45 minutes to an hour.  Once on base you’ll have a 45 minute “Windshield Tour” of the depot visiting multiple historical points.  If there is a recruit class in training you’ll get to observe that too!  Then it’s on to the Post Museum where you’ll be let loose for an hour and a half to take the tour on your own and browse the gift shop. For military junkies, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime tour!
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SIGMA Weekly Report March 31, 2008 © Copyright SIGMA, 2008