Regulatory Experts, industry vendors and public funding staff will be coming to Red Bluff in January. Truck owners and operators; you're invited to attend ARB's 2017 One Stop Truck event for compliance assistance and information/resources on clean technology options for compliance!

On January 17, 2017, Federated is pleased to provide your members access to a complimentary webinar titled "A Top 10 List to Stay Away From!" This webinar will take a look at OSHA’s Top Ten violations for 2016. More importantly, however, it will focus on risk management policies, procedures, training, resources, and implementation to help reduce employee accidents and injuries!

Online registration for our Annual Meeting and New Legislators Day at the Capitol has closed, but you can still register on-site! So be sure to join us on Tuesday and Wednesday, January 17-18 in Sacramento, CA for this must-attend event. It is of critical importance that we meet face-to-face with our incoming elected officials. Without meeting our members and hearing their stories and troubles, our elected officials may not ever truly understand that we are family-owned businesses trying to play by the rules in an ever more sophisticated and difficult regulatory environment. We need them on our side and we need them to know us - meeting in-person is the best way to gain their support.

For more information, please visit www.cioma.com/datc.

CIOMA is proud to announce that we are co-hosting the NACS Industry Update Luncheons being held in Sacramento, CA on Wednesday January 25, 2017 and Newport Beach, CA on Friday January 27, 2017, presented by Hank Armour, NACS President & CEO. The events begin at 11:30am and run until 2:30pm.

Staff of the California Air Resources Board (ARB or Board) invites you to participate in a workshop on Wednesday, January 18, 2017, to discuss strategies for meeting PM2.5 air quality standards in the San Joaquin Valley.

The Air Resources Board (ARB) invites you to attend the first Advanced Clean Local Trucks public workgroup meeting to be held in late January 2017 (meeting details below). The workgroup was established as a result of the first workshop meeting held on November 1, 2016, and will include a wide range of stakeholders such as technology providers, original equipment manufacturers, public and private fleet owners, non-governmental environmental organizations, and other interested parties to discuss the current status of advanced technologies for reducing emissions from local trucks. The discussion will focus on:

For decades, California has been at the forefront of the "green" movement. Environmentalism has been a way of life here for as long as some of us can remember. Earlier this year, the California Legislature took a major leap forward in environmental regulation when it passed Senate Bill 32. But amid the celebration and back-slapping over the passage of this landmark legislation, a growing number of economic and energy experts are raising concerns about SB32’s known and unknown impacts on our economy and the cost of living in California.

The California carbon market could rebound from a sluggish 2016 — assuming it survives the new year.

Environmental justice groups that have growing clout in the state have called for an end to California's cap-and-trade program to reduce CO2 emissions. In addition, a state appeals court is set to decide whether the cap-and-trade program's auctions are illegal.

The EPA estimates the RIN bank will end 2016 at 1.54bn credits, representing a draw of 200mn credits since the EPA's last statement on the 2014 RIN bank balance of 1.74bn credits. Yet as the total renewable fuel mandates grow and the bank sees repeated draws, the RIN bank will represent a dwindling proportion of credits in relation to the size of growing volumetric requirements. A bank of 1.54bn credits, for example, covers roughly 8pc of next year's mandate, providing crucial liquidity to a marketplace facing substantial regulatory uncertainty next year.

Data is everywhere. There aren’t too many day-to-day experiences any more that aren’t somehow linked to data. With the explosion of available data, and the inherent responsibility of using it wisely, how can businesses be sure they focus on the right pieces of data and develop meaningful metrics to use it to measure results? Where do you even start?

Over the past 7 years, many states in the country that follow the federal minimum wage have enjoyed a consistent and enduring $7.25 per hour. Meanwhile, we in California have seen not only steady increases, but also a smorgasbord of local ordinances, creating a hodge-podge of different rates and requirements. 2017 presents the most challenging web of wage increases to date and employers should review their operations in order to stay on top of increases that may impact their workforces. This article outlines the various minimum wage increases California employers will face in the coming year.

Following the November 2016 election, Donald Trump (R) will be sworn in as the next President of the United States on January 20, 2017. The Republicans will also have the majority in the Senate (51 Republican, 47 Democrat) and in the House of Representatives (238 Republicans, 191 Democrat). As a result, the political atmosphere is favorable for the Trump Administration to begin implementing its healthcare policy objectives. Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will likely remain the Speaker of the House. Known as an individual who is experienced in policy, it is expected that the Republican House will work to pass legislation that follows the health care policies in Speaker Ryan’s "A Better Way" proposals. The success of any of these proposals remains to be seen.

An important component of the cost of workers’ compensation is the experience modification. It gives the employer incentive to manage its costs through measurable loss control and claims management. Understanding experience modification and application is the foundation for controlling workers’ compensation costs.