2018 LEGISLATIVE SESSION. costs under control for business.

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1 2018 LEGISLATIVE SESSION February Legislative Session Welcome New KFIA Members....2 Communicator of the Year Nominations Leopold Conservation Award Program Seeks Nominees in Kentucky.3 Mark Your Calendars/Upcoming Events Largest Mass Timber Building Announced in US...4 T he Legislative Session is approaching the halfway point and is finally starting to pick up some steam. The House continues to have hearings on the budget and although no State Pension bill has been filed one should be coming out soon. A few bills have been filed and the ones that are moving are listed below. Of prime importance is House Bill 2 which was just filed and addresses a number of workers compensation issues that will affect future costs to employers. We encourage members to contact legislators and urge them to support the workers compensation reforms that will address a number of issues and keep costs under control for business. House Bill 2 - Legislation that seeks to update the state s workers compensation system, which has seen no significant statutory changes since This bill will clarify limitation on Hardwood Log Exports reopening claims already in Kentucky s law will be applied, set appropriate limits for filing claims on injuries identified years after Stringer Named Chair...5 exposure, ensure the proper standard of care through treatment John C. Smith Invitational Golf guidelines, address the state s opioid addiction problem through formulary guidelines, encourage employers to bring workers back KFIA Annual Meeting Registration..7 to work quickly and establish appropriate durations of payment of medical claims. Passed the House Economic Development and Workforce Investment Committee awaiting a vote by the full House. Hardwood Federation - Informational Update Progress Drive, Frankfort, KY Tel: 502/ Fax: 502/ Website: House Bill 77 - An act relating to trespass. Amends KRS to allow notice of trespass to be given through the placement of identifying purple paint marks on property; require any owner or lessee who marks his or her real property in such a manner to also provide clear written notice forbidding entry. This legislation is an attempt to better clarify trespass. Passed the House Judiciary Committee and voted down by the House. Bob Bauer, Executive Director Bob@kfia.org Michele Brewer, Administrative Assistant Michele@kfia.org Serving the Industry Since 1965 House Bill Amend KRS to redefine " net metering"; and to set the rate of compensation for an eligible customer-generator for electricity produced that flows to the retail supplier to be equal to the most recently approved rate by the Public Service Commission for the retail electric supplier to purchase electricity on an as-available basis from qualifying facilities with design capacities of 100 kilowatts or less; create an exemption for customer-generators taking net metering service by July 15, 2018, to allow those customers to keep their current net metering contract or tariff rate calculation until they cease to take net metering service at the eligible premises or July 15, Continued on Page 2

2 Continued from Front Page 2043, whichever comes first; the bill reduces the rate for solar power generation by 70% making it very marginal to produce power through renewable resources. Passed the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee and awaiting a vote by the full House. Jim Burris Sales Representative Cell: 919/ jimburris@corleymfg.com PO Box 471 Chattanooga, TN Tel: 423/ Fax: 423/ Tyrone-Berry Carriage Drives Lewis Controls Optimization PLACE YOUR AD HERE! 2.75 x 1.75 (Actual Size) $30/month 4 x2 - $55/month (example- Stihl Ad) 4.5 x 3 - $80/month (ex.- Graf Bros.ad) Discounted if run 12 consecutive issues House Bill Legislation related to the Kentucky Occupational Safety and Health Standards to give the Labor Cabinet Secretary the authority to suspend or delay administrative regulations based on the actions of the federal government relating to a corresponding federal regulation. This will provide for stopping regulations at the state level to match changes in federal regulations. Passed the House Economic Development and Workforce Investment Committee and awaiting approval by the full House. Additional detailed information is available in the legislative section of the KFIA website on the workers compensation case and legislation along with major business issues that the Association is working on through the Small Business Caucus. Links are provided that explain the issues and what needs to be addressed through legislative action. KFIA will be monitoring legislation throughout the 2018 Session and urges members to contact the office with any questions or concerns. A list of all the bills that are being followed in the current Legislative Session can be found in the member s only section of the KFIA website and you can go to the Legislative Research Commission (LRC) website at to see complete details on all legislation. You can contact and find your legislator from the LRC website or call to leave a message or to speak directly to your legislator in Frankfort. COMMUNICATOR OF THE YEAR NOMINATIONS K FIA Communications Committee is seeking nominations for an individual associated with the wood products industry that has been involved in recent communications and has become a messenger for the industry. Nominations can be for written or oral communications with youth, adults civic clubs, letter writing campaigns, work with legislators, etc. A nomination form available on the KFIA website or contact the office. Deadline for entries is March 4, 2018 entries should be submitted to KFIA, 106 Progress Drive, Frankfort KY or to Michele@kfia.org or faxed 502/ Page 2 WELCOME NEW KFIA MEMBERS Primary/Secondary Smart Wood USA, 89 KY 3606, Corbin, KY Contact: Ulrich Debacker, T: 606/ Logger Conn Logging, 790 Conn Road, Morehead, KY Contact: David Conn, T: 606/ Dedoutey Logging LLC, 1707 Diehlman Road, McDermott, OH Contact: Ryan Redoutey, T: 740/ Associate Begley, William (Tate), PO Box 346, Hyden, KY T: 606/ Help support our members, all new members are reviewed by the KFIA Board of Directors at our quarterly meetings. These are our recently approved members. We would like to thank all of our new and current members for your continuous support. If you or your company is in need of assistance, please contact the KFIA Office.

3 LEOPOLD CONSERVATION AWARD PROGRAM SEEKS NOMINEES IN KENTUCKY and County Foundation, the Kentucky Agricultural Council S (KAC) and the Kentucky Association of Conservation Districts (KACD) are accepting applications for the Leopold Conservation Award program in Kentucky. The $10,000 award honors Kentucky farmers, ranchers and other private landowners who voluntarily demonstrate outstanding stewardship and management of natural resources. Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the Leopold Conservation Award recognizes extraordinary achievement in voluntary conservation. It inspires other landowners through these examples and provides a visible forum where farmers, ranchers and other private landowners are recognized as conservation leaders. The program is also financially supported by the Kentucky Tree Farm Committee and the award has recently been won by two Kentucky Woodland Owners. Nominations must be postmarked by April 15, 2018, and mailed to Leopold Conservation Award, c/o Franklin County Conservation District, 103 Lakeview Court, Frankfort, Kentucky Electronic nominations and supporting materials can be submitted to colemansteve51@gmail.com on or before the deadline. For application information, please visit or The award will be presented at the Kentucky Association of Conservation Districts Convention on July 10, 2018 in Owensboro, Kentucky. American Wood Fibers Four Generations of Experience Buyers of Red Cedar Logs and Pine Logs 800/ Visit our web site at: Monte Pope District Sales Supervisor 416 East Brooks Road Memphis, Tennessee, USA Phone: 800/ KFIA ANNUAL MEETING - EXCITING NEWS! he Robinson Lumber Company / T Van Meter Insurance Hospitality Suite held April 11, 2018 during the KFIA Annual Meeting has a special announcement. Robinson Lumber and Van Meter Insurance are sponsoring a BOURBON TASTING PLUS SPECIALTY COCK- TAILS with ADDED SURPRISES. KFIA encourages everyone to visit the Suite on Wednesday, April 11 beginning at 2:00 p.m. Meeting registration is available on page 7 of this newsletter or visit to download the full registration. FIND US ON FACEBOOK Page 3

4 MARK YOUR CALENDARS/ UPCOMING EVENTS KFIA ANNUAL MEETING Working Together for Tomorrow April 10-12, 2018 Brown Hotel, Louisville, KY Meeting Registration is available on page 7 of this newsletter. Exhibitor information has also been sent out. If you are interested in participating, please contact the KFIA office or visit KENTUCKY CERTIFICATION Page 4 Kentucky Master Logger 3-Day Course February 20, 21, 22 - Grayson Co. Leitchfield Cooperative Extension Service Office, 123 Commerce Dr., Leitchfield, KY March 20, 21, 22 - Carter Co. Grayson Cooperative Extension Service Office, 94 Fairground Dr., Grayson, KY April 10, 11, 12 - Hopkins Co. Madisonville - Cooperative Extension Service Office, 75 Cornwall Dr., Madisonville, KY Kentucky Master Logger Continuing Education February 27 - Casey County - Liberty - Cooperative Extension Service Office - Business Regulations & Logging Safety March 27 - Letcher County - Whitesburg - BPM Lumber LLC - Log and Lumber Grading March 29 - Floyd County - Prestonsburg - Cooperative Extension Service Office - 10 Ways to Make/Save Money Logging A LARGEST MASS TIMBER BUILDING ANNOUNCED IN US 500,000-square-foot skyscraper will be the largest mass timber building in the United States. The building was designed by Canadian studio Michael Green Architecture - architects of T3, the current tallest cross-laminated timber (CLT) building in the U.S. The new Riverfront Square structure comprises three buildings with heights of six, eight, and 11 stories. The structure will be made of both cross-laminated timber and glulam. Riverfront Square will reach more than double the size of T3, an office building in Minneapolis. The structure will feature 2 million square feet of office spaces, 2,000 residential units, a hotel, public space, and cultural facilities. Workers will be able to lounge in covered roof gardens on top of each block. Triangular-shaped grass patches will be found along the exterior. Advocates of CLT say it can be used to construct buildings of equal strength and fire-resistance as those made of steel and concrete. It has also fueled the passions of architects and environmentalists, who believe it to be a much greener method for housing the world's growing population. CLT is also being looked at as a possible market for hardwoods which would have a positive impact on market demand. HARDWOOD FEDERATION - INFORMATIONAL UPDATE.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator U Scott Pruitt recently met with New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and representatives of the state's forestry, forest products and biomass energy interests and affirmed that the EPA is working to implement the Congressional biomass carbon neutrality directive that we helped enact through sustained advocacy efforts over the last two years. EPA will work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to establish "consistent approaches on the use of biomass for energy" in accordance with directives included in the 2017 Appropriations Bill. This has been a long time goal of the entire forest products industry sector, including KFIA and the Hardwood Federation. Administrator Pruitt also indicated that he intends to revisit EPA's procurement policy that was last updated in September That policy unfortunately recognized only products from forests certified to the Forest Stewardship Council, locking out those lands certified to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative or the American Tree Farm System. Pruitt indicated that the new policy will now mirror the USDA's Bio-preferred Program. The USDA Biopreferred program was amended in the last Farm Bill to allow traditional forest products like hardwoods to participate in its labeling and procurement preference program. Also following a strong lobbying effort by the Hardwood Federation and our forest products allies.

5 HARDWOOD LOG EXPORTS L og exports are a hot topic for many today as all aspects of the forest products community have a wide variety of opinions on the subject. KFIA and other participating associations in the Hardwood Federation held a recent teleconference call to discuss the issue. There were association representatives of forest owners, sawmills, loggers, distribution, secondary manufacturers and end user groups on the call. The pros and cons of changes in log exports were discussed and it was agreed that more information is needed. The Hardwood Federation has established a comments page to allow the industry to share information and thoughts. Anyone with an interest is encouraged to share comments at: THF/Surveys/4330/Respond Buying Green Poplar 4/4, 5/4 and 6/4 Contact: Bill Perry Phone: (606) bill@pvmillwork.com Think Poplar. Think Powell Valley. pvmillwork.com The upcoming KFIA annual meeting on April at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, KY will feature Judd Johnson with the Hardwood Market Report and he will be providing the most recent log export data and discuss the issue. The American Hardwood Export Council is collecting data related to U.S. log exports to China and their detailed report will be out later this year. CHAIR OF THE UK DEPT. OF FORESTRY AND NATURAL RESOURCES NAMED J effrey W. Stringer Ph.D has been named Chairman of the Forestry and Natural Resources Department at the University of Kentucky. Jeff has been acting Chair and will replace Red Baker who moved to Florida to head up their Forestry program. Stringer has an extension background and has worked on a wide range of activities that directly affect the wood industry in Kentucky. He has been involved with forming a Wood Certification Center at the University, research on logging BMP's, Kentucky Master Logger Program and has conducted research and many programs that benefit both woodland owners and wood industry. KFIA looks forward to working with Dr. Stringer and expanding our relationship with the Forestry Department in the future. KFIA ANNUAL MEETING SAVE THE DATE Working Together for Tomorrow April 10-12, 2018 The Brown Hotel - Louisville, Kentucky Kentucky Wood Expo Room Reservations available by using the link below or by calling Reservations at 502/ FBH&avcurrency=USD&group=040918KYFIA Sept. 20 & 21, 2019 Lexington, KY Page 5

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8 106 Progress Drive Frankfort, Kentucky Tel: 502/ PO Box 1779 * 1240 Fair Way St. Bowling Green, KY Tel: 270/ Still Standing behind a firm handshake Specializing in Business Insurance, Including Life, Health, Property/Casualty and Workers Comp Self-insurance. Endorsed by: