Are you looking to capitalize on one of the many benefits of being a Chamber member? With the cold winter weather now upon us, the ChamberChoice Energy Program offers options to save money for commercial and residential electric and natural gas customers. The Chamber has partnered with OnDemand Energy Solutions to take the confusion and hassle out of shopping for an energy supplier for your business. Simply provide 2-3 months of electric or natural gas bills to an experienced energy consultant and they will shop over two dozen suppliers to find the solution that best fits your businesses’ needs and comfort level. Managed and fixed rate products are available.
Members of the Columbia Montour Chamber have saved millions of dollars on their electricity costs through this program. To begin the process, call OnDemand Energy at 1-866-699-9968 and tell them you’re a member of the Chamber. As OnDemand works with multiple suppliers, they also offer a fixed-priced solution for residential customers. Find OnDemand Energy’s current offers on their website and by clicking the Residential Energy Button in the bottom right corner. These competitive rates offered by OnDemand Energy suppliers are offered to all employees, family, and friends of Chamber members. To compare pricing, terms, and other program details for all suppliers in your market, visit papowerswitch.com.
From PA Chamber of Business & Industry Employer confidence is on the rise, but many business leaders are still hesitant to invest and hire. These indicators are among the responses from the PA Chamber’s 26th Annual Economic Survey, which was conducted by G. Terry Madonna Opinion Research from August through October 2016 and completed in partnership with the High Center at Elizabethtown College.
According to the survey, employers’ top concerns are taxes – with the state’s 9.99 percent Corporate Net Income Tax rate being listed as the greatest tax barrier to growth. Also high on the list are rising health insurance costs (61 percent of survey participants say health insurance premiums increased over the last year); lawsuit abuse and excessive environmental regulation. Another key area of concern was workforce, with only two in five survey respondents saying they thought the quality of the state’s workforce was “excellent” or “good” (an issue the PA Chamber is working to tackle through its new Start the Conversation Here workforce development initiative.)
“Certainly, the extreme premium hikes we’ve seen in the post-Obamacare marketplace are going to lead more businesses to reduce employee benefits or even drop insurance coverage for their workers,” PA Chamber President Gene Barr said in a press release announcing the survey results. “We will continue to advocate for increasing employer flexibility and eliminating costly mandates as we educate employers on how to achieve compliance and maximize their options.”
Last Thursday, SUEZ dedicated its new advanced water treatment plant in Bloomsburg. The $32 million Irondale Water Treatment Plant utilizes modern technology to deliver high quality water. The location is out of the 100-year flood plain, in order to remain in service during high water events.
The membrane ultrafiltration is pictured beside high service pumps inside the new plant. A SUEZ sister company based in the US designed the “SmartRack” technology on which the membranes are housed. The new plant represents the first use of the new technology in North America.
The membranes filter the water after a process called superpulsation, which enhances sediment removal from the raw water. Eric Gernath, Chief Executive Officer for SUEZ North America, noted that the new plant has been built at an elevation that will help avoid potential floodwaters that had previously interfered with operations at the now decommissioned, original treatment plant. Following the flooding in 2011, the Chamber encouraged SUEZ (then United Water) to take steps to avoid lengthy service interruptions and supported the investment in a new facility.
A new federal law, aimed at making it easier for the IRS to detect and prevent refund fraud, accelerates the W-2 filing deadline for employers to January 31. The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act, enacted last December, includes the new requirement for employers. The January 31 filing deadline also applies to certain Forms 1099-MISC reporting non-employee compensation such as payments to independent contractors.
In the past, employers typically had until the end of February, if filing on paper, or the end of March, if filing electronically, to submit copies of these forms. In addition, there are changes in requesting an extension to file. Only one 30-day extension to file Form W-2 is available and the extension is not automatic. A Form 8809 Application for Extension of Time to File Information Returns must be completed as soon as possible and by January 31.
Be a part of the Partnership’s biggest event of the year and one of the area’s premiere holiday celebrations. The Holiday Open House will be held on Thursday, December 8th at The Pine Barn Inn. The evening will be filled with great networking opportunities and feature assorted foods and a full selection of beverages.
The event annually draws over 400 business and community leaders, so a Holiday Open House sponsorship is a sure way to make your business stand out in the community.
To become a sponsor, call Donna at 570-284-4455 or email dsharrow@cmpartnership.org. The deadline to sign up as a sponsor this year is November 10th. Thank you to this year’s Exclusive Event Sponsor – Service 1st Federal Credit Union.
From PA Chamber of Business & Industry
An opportunity for a substantive pension reform measure to reach Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk puttered out last Wednesday night, as House legislative leaders determined that there were not enough votes in that chamber to pass legislation that had earlier been reported from a conference committee. Prior to the House’s announcement that the pension reform bill had stalled, the legislation was approved by a conference committee made up of House appointees Reps. Mike Tobash, Warren Kampf and Dan Frankel; and Sens. Jake Corman, Joe Scarnati and John Blake.
The report, which cleared the committee by a 4-2 vote, would have instituted the option of new hybrid defined benefit, defined contribution plans, or a straight defined contribution plan, for new state and public school employees. After it became clear that the measure would not be taken up by the House for a final vote, House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, admitted that the chamber was three votes shy of getting the 102 votes needed to approve it, with no support from any Democrats. And while Wolf spokesman Jeff Sheridan told reporters that the governor “remains committed” to achieving pension reform, Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, seemed hard-pressed to believe it. “”This governor provided zero [Democratic votes] – to me that’s unprecedented, if he truly wanted it,” Corman said.
On Thursday, Oct. 27, the House referred the conference report on S.B. 1071 back to the conference committee, setting up a potential scenario in which the legislation could again be considered during the few post-election session days that are scheduled in November.
Candidates for State Representative for the 107th and 109th districts have provided responses to business-related questions in advance of the November 8th General Election. The questions were developed by the Joint Governmental Affairs Committee of the Chamber and Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau and sent to all of the registered candidates. Their responses are provided unedited except being aggregated and formatted for consistency of presentation.
Responses from the candidates for the 107th District are available here.
Responses from the candidates for the 109th District are available here.
From PA Chamber of Business & Industry
State House and Senate lawmakers are in Harrisburg this week as part of a busy two-week session period wherein they are expected to wrap up legislative action for the 2015-16 session. The PA Chamber remains focused on working with lawmakers toward getting a comprehensive public pension reform measure to the governor’s desk. Senate Bill 1071, which has been sent to a yet-to-be-appointed legislative conference committee, could see action this week. Other business-related legislation that could potentially be considered includes proposed reforms to the state’s Unemployment Compensation system relating to seasonal workers, and a measure that would bring more transparency to the process by which state contracts are negotiated with private attorneys.
From PA Chamber of Business & Industry
The PA Chamber led a statewide coalition of associations and industry groups last week in sending a letter to lawmakers on the Senate Labor and Industry Committee, urging their support for legislation that would help to mitigate the impact of federal overtime requirements – particularly as new, more challenging rules are scheduled to take effect on Dec. 1, 2016. Senate Bill 1360 was authored following a joint public hearing this summer, where employers and representatives from the nonprofit, health services and higher education communities all described how the rule will lead to higher costs. For some, this could mean converting employees from salary to hourly, more burdensome record-keeping, a tighter work schedule and fewer training opportunities. The bill aims to help employers manage federal overtime rules by allowing for accommodations to these requirements that are not yet covered under Pennsylvania law – e.g., letting employees maintain salary status through use of a “fluctuating work week,” offering flexibility in the definition of compensable “hours worked” and qualifying certain employees as exempt.
“The new rules will be effective soon and while there is nothing state lawmakers can do with respect to the federal rule itself, Senator Baker’s bill will help in a meaningful way those nonprofits, human service agencies, educational institutions and others in your district who will be impacted,” the coalition letter stresses. In related news, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is leading a broad coalition of business groups in filing a legal challenge to the overtime rule, arguing that the Department of Labor exceeded its statutory authority in issuing the regulation and violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
In addition to the private groups’ suit, a coalition of 21 states filed a challenge at the same time reinforcing the range of entities that will have severe problems complying with this regulation. “The [U.S.] Chamber is grateful to be joined by a coalition of states and state attorneys general who are committed to improving economic growth and career opportunity, and to defending the rule of law,” said Randy Johnson, senior vice president of Labor, Immigration, and Employee Benefits for the U.S. Chamber.