11 March 2025 News, Events, Reminders In Case You Missed It ICYMI shorts NEW AOL Member Discount! Gills Point S Tire and Auto Service offers a 10% discount to AOL members and employees. Gills has 28 Oregon stores in the I-5 corridor, Central Oregon, Columbia Gorge, and Ontario. Their website has a store locator showing 146 stores nationwide. Mention Associated Oregon Loggers at checkout! One good Thing! Congress Passes Forest Act. The U.S. House passed the industry-supported ‘Fix Our Forests Act, HR 471’ on a bipartisan 279-141 vote. Now awaiting Senate action, FOFA would help streamline federal forest management, expedite analyses, reduce frivolous lawsuits, and increase the scale of forest projects. Bill to Delay Clean Trucks Rule. AOL and dozens of business groups now lobby for a bipartisan bill that delays until 2027, the Oregon DEQ from implementing its unworkable Advanced Clean Trucks regulation (ACT). On January 1, 2025, ACT began limiting vehicle dealer sales of combustion powered vehicles over 8,500 lb. GVWR. Oregon Transportation at a Crossroads. State funding of too many competing highway positions for too few dollars will collide in the 2025 Legislature. AOL’s lobby team began its work with business and transportation coalition partners to defend against costly funding schemes, and to derail burdensome vehicle taxes and regulation. Transportation Bill Threatens. A news investigation and much data spotlight Oregon Department of Transportation shortcomings in its $5.3 billion “transportation package” law passed in 2017. Then promoted as a model of highway improvement, that package spent much and accomplished little. The business lobby now fights to avert a 2025 bill “package” that repeats the 2017 mistakes. Beginning in 2025, OPL Requires Individual Qualification. Any company seeking OPL-qualification—but has not yet finished all new OPL requirements— should proceed to complete four individual tasks: 1) four courses; 2) continuing education credits; 3) valid first aid/cpr; 4) company AOL membership. Contact AOL for details. Association Health Plan. Health insurance coverage is available to AOL member employers at very competitive rates—over 30 companies now insured. Health Net Insurance is a statewide PPO network with 21,000 providers, 75 hospitals, and no network gaps in any counties. To request a quote, contact: [email protected] or 503.364.1330. Federal Government New Team. The Trump Administration is now appointing a superior team of 3,500 agency appointees that should benefit Oregon small forest businesses the next four years. One stellar example is Environmental Protection Agency Director, Lee Zeldin. Zeldin will lead major reforms to shoddy EPA environmental regulations that now-impact American business. Stop Federal Tax Hike. AOL partner, National Federation of Independent Business is flooding Congress with emails, urging them to make the 20% Small Business Deduction permanent, which expires at the end of 2025. If Congress doesn’t act, many small business owners would face a tax increase. Send a letter here: https:// www.nfib.com/advocacy/now/. Forest Service Layoff. The U.S. Forest Service announced February 13 it would lay off 3,400 agency employees—or 10% of its workforce nationwide—beginning immediately. The cuts would include new employees and those who elected to take early retirement, while forcing incoming agency leadership to find streamlined national forest management. t
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