Electric League News

Prospective Member Luncheon

The Electric League will hold its annual Prospective Member Luncheon at the Arrowhead Club in Arrowhead Stadium on Friday, October 24, 2003. Our speaker will be long-time announcer for the Kansas City Chiefs, Bill Grigsby.

The luncheon will have a special focus on guests. It will be a great opportunity for guests to network with members in the unique setting of the Arrowhead Club. Make plans today to attend and bring a prospective member! A reservation form is included with this newsletter.

Annual Lighting Awards Banquet

Electric League members will want to mark their calendar for for Monday, November 3 to attend the annual Lighting Awards Banquet. The event will be held at the Downtown DoubleTree Hotel, 1301 Wyandotte, Kansas City, Mo. The narrated slide presentation will highlight some of the finest lighting projects completed in the Kansas City area during the past year. Area lighting designers, architects, engineers, contractors and project owners will be recognized for their achievements in commercial and residential lighting.

We look forward to seeing the winning entries and visiting with you at the banquet. This gala event is always well attended, and it’s your opportunity to gain the recognition you deserve.

The Electric League is asking for your support of this popular event. Contact Laura Simmons at the League office, 816-561-5323.

Happy Holidays

The always popular Electric League Holiday Luncheon will be Thursday, December 11 - mark your calendar. We are at a new location this year, the Ameristar Casino.

It’s not too early to think about what door prizes you or your company plans to contribute to the luncheon. Don’t wait until the last minute, let’s help the Holiday Luncheon Committee out and send in your gift basket, gift cards, electronics, or even cash. The luncheon is full of holiday cheer and your door prize contributions add to the smiles of all the guests.

To make a contribution, please call Kim Swank at (816) 561-5323, or e-mail kswank@swassn.com at the Electric League office to make arrangements.

We look forward to seeing you December 11!

Product Liability Reform Legislation

Bills working their way through the House and Senate would offer protection to small businesses from hefty product liability damages. The Small Business Liability Reform Act (HR 2813 and S 1546) would protect retailers with fewer than 25 employees from being sued over defective products manufactured by another company. The legislation would also cap punitive damages at $250,000 and abolish joint liability.

Source: National Retail Hardware Association.

Let the Electric League be your source for quality education, with classes designed to fit your schedule and budget! Classes are available in the evening, one-day sessions or even in your office!

Our classes are designed with you in mind. The Education Committee has been working diligently to design the classes and schedule to fit your needs.

The Electric League is offering a full slate of education classes this fall. The classes include:

Electrical Fundamentals and Single Phase Systems - Michael Kelly, P.E. - instructor
Electrical Three Phase Systems and Practical Applications - Michael Kelly, P.E. - instructor
Electrical Troubleshooting I, Basic Principles and Practical Applications - Michael Kelly, P.E. - instructor
Lighting Fundamentals 101 - John Wilkinson - instructor
NEC Code Review - Bob Herzig, P.E. - instructor

Members have received a brochure detailing the classes with descriptions, and a registration form.

If you would like more information about the classes offered please complete and return the form to the Electric League.

Visit our website at www.electricleague.org/classes.htm

Condolences:
Our thoughts are with Eldon and Terry Masters (Bernie Electric) on the loss of their mother and to Kim Mathis (Graybar) on the loss of her father. Our condolences to Phil Barker at Rexel Glasco on the loss of his wife Shirley.

Congratulations to a former E.L. member and founder of R.F. Fisher Electric, Ray Fisher and his wife Mary Alice who celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on Sept. 18th. That deserves a standing ovation! Congratulations to Patrick Richey and his wife on the birth of their baby girl, Lauren. Mom and new baby are doing just fine.

Happy September birthday to Mark Bishop at C&O Electric Sales. October birthdays include: Wes Rains of Rains Electrical Sales on Halloween; Beck Keller of Independent Electric on October 3rd.

New Faces in New Places:
Izzy Rowland is now at Rexel/Glasco; Rick Moffitt is at CED/Rensenhouse; welcome to Nate Decker, the new Branch Manager at Graybar Electric (and new Electric League member).

Keep those e-mails coming in - this is YOUR column! We’ll print what you send us to share with your co-members.

e-mail to: peoplecolumn@electricleague.org

Among the ballot initiatives Kansas City voters will face this November will be Question 4, which seeks to change the requirements for placing future initiatives on the ballot. If passed, petitions for ballot initiatives would be required to include signatures from at least four out of six council districts from citizens who have resided in the city for at least 30 days. In addition, it sets a six month time frame for petitions to be acted upon. Finally, it requires the City Attorney to review and comment on any proposed initiatives.

Councilman Jim Rowland brought Question 4 to the table, concerned that ballot questions, which cost the City roughly $300,000, should have some level of citywide support.

Update on Kansas Streamlined Sales Tax

Kansas Governor, Kathleen Sebelius, recently addressed the issue of the new Streamlined Sales Tax law in a letter to Kansas retailers. In the letter she notes the efforts of the Kansas Department of Revenue to help businesses implement the new rules regarding a “destination-based sourcing” of sales tax.

“The department is soliciting bids on an address-based system for assigning taxing jurisdictions, with the goal of making it available to retailers by mid-November. This new system will include a downloadable electronic database that will match a street address to the correct taxing jurisdiction and rate, and it should be more accurate than a five or nine-digit zip code database. It should also feature a window on the department’s website in which the street address can be typed and the correct taxing jurisdiction and rate retrieved.

“The department is also in the process of developing a web-based electronic filing option for the new form ST36 which they will implement first in the November filing period (due December 25th).”

In the letter, the Governor announced two important steps:

“First, I have directed the Secretary of Revenue to extend the “relaxed” approach of implementing the destination-based sourcing rules until further notice. You will be notified when this period will end. As part of this approach, the Department will continue to hold businesses harmless from sanctions if they cannot comply with the destination sourcing provisions of the new law.

“Many businesses are already in compliance, and I congratulate them. You should continue reporting under the new system. Others are waiting on software from the department, or other vendors. We will give you adequate time to convert your systems. In the meantime, please report to the best of your ability.

“Second, I will seek changes in the application and interpretation of the sourcing rules that will allow businesses the flexibility to conform without violating the agreement.”

Missouri Legislative Update

Missouri Governor Bob Holden called a special session of the Missouri Legislature that began Monday, Sept. 8 to eliminate several corporate tax breaks that would generate about 44 million dollars for public schools.

The tax changes would have an impact on small business and may be counter-productive. The regularly-scheduled veto session began on Wednesday, September 10. On September 11, the Missouri Senate Ways & Means Committee defeated on a 4-3 vote the governor’s proposed tax increase package offered in the current special legislative session. The House leadership earlier had announced they would not allow debate on any tax package during the special session.

National Legislative News

Congress is back at work with three top priorities on its fall agenda - appropriations bills for fiscal year 2004, comprehensive energy legislation and prescription drug benefits for Medicare recipients. Originally, Congress was targeting early October as a date to wrap up the year’s business ... looks now like work could run into November or even December.

The Department of Labor (DOL) proposed revisions to overtime rules seem to have run into trouble. Congressional Democrats don’t like them, say they will cause about 8 million workers to lose eligibility for overtime. DOL counters that 1.3 million workers will gain overtime but only 644,000 will lose it. Democrats are trying to block the rules by amending DOL’s appropriations bill to prevent the department from using funds to implement the rules. The amendment failed in the House, but passed in the Senate. It will be an issue in the conference committee.

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