Congress Passes Energy Tax Incentives With Recovery Package

Recently, the House of Representatives followed the Senate’s lead and passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, H.R.1424, by a vote of 263 - 171. President Bush then signed the bill into law.

In addition to the financial rescue plan, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) comments that the package includes provisions for the extension of expired and expiring tax incentives for renewable energy, energy-efficient building upgrades and appliance and equipment purchases.

The provisions also include three Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) legislative priorities: the two-year extension of both the 15-year timeline for depreciating leasehold improvements and brownfields expensing and a 5-year extension of the tax deduction for energy efficient commercial buildings. The two-year extensions on brownfields expensing and leasehold depreciation are retroactive to Jan. 1, 2008 and will go through Dec. 31, 2009, while the deduction of up to $1.80/square foot for energy efficiency improvements made to commercial buildings that achieve 50 percent reduction in energy use (compared to a base building defined by the ASHRAE 90.1-2001 Standard) will now expire Dec. 31, 2013.

 

Workplace Violence and Facility Management

The IFMA Foundation released Violence in the Workplace: The Role of the Facility Manager. Written by Wayne D. Veneklasen, Ph.D., CFM, and Donald W. Barnes Jr., CPP, the report looks at the history of violence in the workplace, examines the scope of the problem, describes the statutes surrounding it and concludes with a focus on planning, response and recovery.

This new report takes the perspective of the building owner and facility manager while outlining the steps they can take to help mitigate this problem.

 

Flooring: Leading Cause of Injuries

According to the 2008 edition of the National Safety Council’s Injury Facts, flooring is the leading cause of injuries in the professional and business services sector. This area of work employed approximately 13.9 million people in 2005. That year, the sector reported 91,840 nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work.

The leading source of injury or illness was floor and ground surfaces at 19,410, resulting in sprains, strains, soreness, cuts or lacerations, bruises and fractures. The most affected areas included the back and shoulders and lower extremities.

Visit https://www.cleanlink.com/news for specific statistics.

 

EPA TO “GREEN” DISINFECTANTS AND SANITIZERS

A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) work group has committed to developing a proposal that would allow companies to make “green” claims and/or use eco-labels in conjunction with the promotion and marketing of disinfectants, sanitizers, and possibly other EPA-registered pesticide products. Current EPA policy prohibits such claims.

In this regard, ISSA Director of Legislative Affairs Bill Balek and The Ashkin Group President Stephen Ashkin were appointed co-chairs of a committee tasked with the responsibility of carving a path forward for the use of environmentally preferable claims related to institutional and commercial disinfectants and sanitizers. This committee will report its results to the EPA Work Group on Comparative Claims for Pesticide Products.

Balek and Ashkin were appointed to the comparative-claims work group in late summer. The group was established for the specific purpose of making recommendations to the EPA Office of Pesticide Programs regarding the use of green claims in the promotion of EPA-registered pesticide products. Historically, the EPA has prohibited the use of environmentally preferable claims, including the use of eco-labels, in relation to any pesticide products, including disinfectants and sanitizers.

The EPA recently agreed to review its current policy at the prodding of ISSA and others that have argued that the marketplace demand for environmentally preferable cleaning products requires the agency to develop a new policy that allows industry to make objective and verifiable claims regarding the environmental and safety and health attributes of its disinfectants and sanitizers.

To date, the work group has met twice, most recently on October 6, and is moving forward quickly to finalize its recommendations. It is expected that a specific plan will be proposed and discussed at the work group’s next meeting, in early December.




POSTED ON: 11/1/2008