SOFTWOOD LUMBER AGREEMENT –

MAKING PROGRESS

After much discussion and negative press, the Canadian provinces are beginning to express support for the softwood lumber agreement. On August 17, the British Columbia government announced support; then, on August 22, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that, following Monday’s decision by the Canadian timber industry to support the softwood deal, Canada’s Parliament would vote on the issue next month.

This support followed revision of the agreement that makes it harder for the U.S. to pull out before it ends. If the agreement isn’t renewed, or if the U.S. decides to bail out, the Americans cannot impose duties until one year after the deal was killed. According to an article on www.cbc.ca, these extra clauses give the lumber industry more stability, which could help producers to recoup their losses over the years.

Sources: LBM Daily, August 17 and August 23, 2006; CBC News Indepth, August 23, 2006

FREE STATE AND FEDERAL POSTERS

You might receive a phone call or a letter from an official looking agency or company stating that you must update your federal and state posters or you will face fines or even an investigation. This is a scare tactic to get you to buy their posters.

If you need up-to-date state and federal posters – or you’re just not sure if your posters are current – you need look no further than the MLA website. Just go to www.themla.com and click on “Free Employment Posters” on the left-hand navigation bar. That will take you to the Regulatory Consultants, Inc. web site where you can select the appropriate state and download the posters you need. Nearly all the posters – from minimum wage to fair employment practices – can be obtained and printed immediately.

If you’re in Oklahoma, you will need to call the State to get the Oklahoma Fair Employment Practice Poster and Oklahoma Worker’s Compensation Notice poster. Contact information is on the web site.

Remember – everything you need is right here, completely free of charge. Don’t be tricked by telephone offers into paying $50 or more when everything you need is available from MLA. We recommend the free posters because every time your state changes a phone number or wording to the posters, technically you should print a new one.

The federal posters don’t change very often, but state posters change quite a bit because of a change in phone numbers, email addresses or slight change in wording.

NOMINATIONS REQUESTED

MLA is accepting nominations to fill three positions on the Board of Directors: Third Vice President, Arkansas State Committee Chairman and Associate Director. A letter with complete information has been mailed to all voting members requesting nominations. If you would like to serve – or if you would like to nominate another member – please contact any member of the nominating committee or MLA at 800-747-6529.

Nominating Committee members are:

John Duncan, Schmidt Builders Supply, Inc., 721 N. Kansas Ave., Topeka, KS 66608 - Phone: 785-354-1733; Fax: 785-354-1364 – jduncan@schmidtbuilderssupply.com    

Alan Clark, Clarks Bldg. & Decorating Center, 419 Westinghouse Dr., Hot Springs, AR 71901-8657 – Phone: 501-262-2262; Fax: 501-262-5129

Brad Isdell, Town & Country Lumber, PO Box 451, Higginsville, MO 64037 - Phone: 660-584-5841; Fax: 660-584-5822

Woodie Acord, Acord’s Home Center, 251 Huntsville Rd., Eureka Springs, MO 72632 - Phone: 479-253-9642; Fax: 479-253-8963

Rich Bass, Mill Creek Lumber & Supply Co., Inc., 6974 E. 38^th St., Tulsa, OK 74145 - Phone: 918-747-8027; Fax: 918-747-1325 – richb@millcreeklumber.com

Nominations will close on Friday, September 15. Please contact MLA with any questions.

“Each one reach one” membership campaign

Have you talked to anyone about MLA membership lately? The Mid-America Lumbermens Association (MLA) is sponsoring a membership contest to run from July 1 to October 31, 2006. The MLA Board unanimously approved plans to reward current members who recruit new members for the Association. 

All you have to do is talk with someone who isn't currently a member and recommend they join. We'll follow up and do the rest. The grand prizewinner will be awarded a trip to Las Vegas – all expenses paid – for recruiting the most new members for MLA. Cash prizes also will be awarded to the second and third place winners. Complete details are available from MLA at 800-747-6529.

GOP Loses Tax Bet

The Senate said no to estate tax relief, extensions of popular tax breaks and an increase in the minimum wage. The action came in the final hours before senators recessed for the month of August. The legislation that senators rejected was passed by the House just a week earlier. 

In the last days before recessing, Republicans wanted to pass permanent estate tax relief and find a way to remove the minimum wage as an election issue.

After floating several ideas, House members came up with the Estate Tax & Extension of Tax Relief Act. Not only did this bill contain estate tax relief provisions and tax cut extensions, it raised the minimum wage.

Republicans bet that the minimum wage increase, along with non-controversial tax cut extensions, would trump Democrats’ aversion to permanent estate tax relief. They were wrong.

Although both the Pension Protection Act and the Estate Tax & Extension of Tax Relief Act were scheduled for votes in the Senate, the threat of a Democratic filibuster hung over both of them. In the end, the Pension Protection Act was passed by a 93 to 5 vote.

The Estate Tax & Extension of Tax Relief Act went down on a vote to stop a filibuster when only 56 of the necessary 60 votes materialized. Although Senate majority leader Bill Frist (R-TN) used a procedural move to protect his right to bring the bill back later, for all practical purposes, this particular bill is dead.

The failed bill had some attractive provisions.

Permanent estate tax relief – The bill would have raised the estate tax exemption to $5 million per person and taxed estates up to $25 million at the capital gains rate (currently 15 percent) and those over $25 million at 30 percent; both the exemption and the estate value would have been indexed for inflation. The changes would have been phased in between 2010, when the exemption would be $3.75 million and the tax rate would be 40 percent, and 2015.

Extension of tax breaks – It would have extended for two years a long list of tax incentives including the research and development credit, the work opportunity and welfare-to-work credits, the $100,000 cap on small business expensing, the 15-year recovery period for improvements on leased business property and the state sales tax deduction.

Minimum wage increase – It would have increased the minimum wage by $2.10 to $7.25 an hour over three years. It would have gone to $5.85 on Jan. 1, 2007, to $6.55 on June 1, 2008, and to $7.25 on June 1, 2009.

Could some of its provisions – such as the tax cut extensions – resurface as a stand-alone bill or as an amendment to some other legislation?

As senators headed home, Frist was quoted as saying he’d bring back the three-part bill and insist on an all-or-nothing vote. Minority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) was indicating he might block consideration of the tax cut extensions as a means of getting a vote on a the minimum wage and he can be expected to continue his blockade of estate tax relief. But all this might have to wait until after the election.

Source: NRHA Washington Report, North American Retail Hardware Association, August 2006

LUMBER NEWS – QUICK GLIMPSES