Patricia Sarris, CRA chairman of the board, announced the results of the recent board elections. Officers elected to a one-year term are: Jeff Roberts, president; Rusty Parr, vice president; Ryan Leis, treasurer; and David Dworschak, secretary. Directors elected to serve a three-year term, beginning July 2017, are Rob Dickey, David Dworschak, John Grill, Ryan Leis, Janice Petersen and Patricia Sarris. Elected to serve as associate directors are: Allen Buck (three-year term), Jim Grasse (two-year term), and John Frantz (one-year term). CONGRATULATIONS to all of our newly elected officers. Their dedication and hard work are most appreciated!

As a supporting organization for ICUEE 2017, CRA would like to extend an invitation to join them at the show in Louisville, KY, October 3-5! The International Construction and Utility Equipment Exposition (ICUEE), also known as The Demo Expo, is the premiere event for utility industry professionals to gain comprehensive insight into the latest technologies, innovations, insights, and trends affecting their industry.

Serious sleuthing after a workplace accident can help you discover the cause of a specific injury and also expose workplace hazards. A successful investigation uncovers:
• direct cause of injury or accident;
• peripheral and interrelated causes or results of the incident;
• ways to promote safety and safe work methods;
• ways to prevent similar incidents;
• indirect and direct costs of the incident on wages, retraining, time lost, reduced production, etc.

We are pleased to announce our 2018 CRA Wall Calendar as an excellent opportunity to bring your company's products and services to the attention of CRA rental center members. Use the calendar advertisement to keep your company's name and logo in front of our members for an entire year!

Allmand Bros. Inc., a subsidiary of Briggs & Stratton Corporation and long-time manufacturer of high-performance portable equipment, expands its product offerings into the portable air compressor market. The Maxi-Air™ Portable Air Compressor’s heavy-duty, over-sized rotary screw air end provides consistent, high-pressure air volumes at low rpm for enhanced fuel efficiency. The Maxi-Air comes in two models, the MA185 and MA400, with free air delivery of 185 scfm and 400 scfm, respectively. Both models achieve a maximum working pressure of 120 psi.

Following a distinguished career of over 50 years, Jack Shea has announced that he is stepping down from his role as a Business Development Executive, though he continues to serve as a consultant at InTempo. Widely considered to be a "godfather" of rental software, Jack was instrumental in ushering in the era of computerization across the industry.

Pinnacle Climate Technologies develops, manufactures, and distributes heating and ventilation solutions through commercial, industrial, agricultural, DIY, and other retail channels throughout the world. With brands that include MASTER®, SCHAEFER®, and AMERIC®, Pinnacle is positioned as the global leader in industrial/construction heating and portable ventilation products.

Six job killer bills moved from one legislative house to the other in time to meet last week’s June 2 deadline for bills to pass the house in which they were introduced while three job killer bills were stopped. A fourth job killer was held by a fiscal committee the previous week.

The following is a commentary by Loren Kaye on funding the Healthy California Act. Kaye is president of the California Foundation for Commerce and Education, a nonprofit think tank affiliated with the California Chamber of Commerce: Since the best feature of the Healthy California Act is that all health care will be free, it seems churlish to suggest that someone must pay for something. Sadly, even after asserting more than $70 billion in new savings from efficiencies that highly motivated private providers and government regulators have not achieved, and after assuming that federal authorities will hand over about $150 billion in program funding and tax subsidies for use by state health care officials, the academics hired by program proponents find that revenues still fall short by $106 billion.

The following article, posted last week on foxandhounds.com, is by John Cox, a San Diego area businessman and a Republican candidate for Governor. Cox comments that the staggering price tag for the Democrats’ plan to provide "health care for all" would cost California $400 billion a year to create a state-funded universal health care system — more than double the $180 billion annual state budget. California residents will be required to pay significantly increased taxes — as much as 50 percent or more — to the state to cover health care costs, rather than individuals being able to make their own decisions to buy from private insurers who have to compete for their business.

A California Chamber of Commerce-opposed bill that seeks to stop employers from "seeking" salary history information about an applicant passed the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee this week. The CalChamber opposes AB 168 (Eggman; D-Stockton) because it could expose all employers to unnecessary litigation, create hurdles in the hiring process and is already addressed by existing law.

The final rule on Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica in Construction, published on March 25, 2016, established a new Permissible Exposure Limit and contained several other ancillary provisions that apply to the construction industry. This rule was codified at 29 CFR §1926.1153 and became effective on June 23, 2016. Under the standard, all obligations were to commence on June 23, 2017 except for requirements for sample analysis in paragraph (d)(2)(v), which commence on June 23, 2018. However, the construction standard for crystalline silica has a number of unique features warranting development of additional guidance materials. In order to provide the opportunity to conduct additional outreach to the regulated community and to provide additional time to train compliance officers, OSHA has decided to delay enforcement of this standard until September 23, 2017.

Joe Mathews, Connecting California Columnist and Editor, Zócalo Public Square; Fellow at the Center for Social Cohesion at Arizona State University and co-author of California Crackup: How Reform Broke the Golden State and How We Can Fix It, commented on California's gas tax: There’s not much good to say about the legislative package that raised the gas tax to pay for a relatively small amount of road construction. After generations of neglect, California’s needs so far outpace the relatively small amount of money raised, it won’t do much. And there’s not much good to say about the opponents of the gas tax. It’s a relatively small tax that is being blown up into a big issue. Why? Politics. The gas tax can be exaggerated into some sort of attack on the people, and used to recall a state legislator in Orange County and maybe even advance a ballot initiative campaign that will bring income to some consultants and activists. So a pox on both their houses. Because the gas tax fight, yes or no, distracts from big issues in the state.

In late 2016, the difference between U.S. average retail prices for premium and regular gasoline reached 50 cents per gallon. This price spread has been generally expanding since 2000, and the rate at which the spread has grown has accelerated over the past three years. Many factors on both the supply and demand sides are likely influencing this trend. On the demand side, since 2013, the premium gasoline share of total motor gasoline sales has steadily increased, reaching a near 13-year high of 11.9% in August 2016. While lower gasoline prices may be supporting demand for premium gasoline, the upward trend in sales is more likely driven by changes in fuel requirements for light-duty vehicles in response to increasing fuel economy standards. To meet these standards, more car manufacturers are producing models with turbocharged engines that may require or recommend the use of high octane gasoline.

• June 22, 2017 – CRA Territory Meeting Hosted by American Pneumatic Tools – Santa Ana, CA, more...
• June 30, 2017: RSIF Scholarship Applications are due more...
• July 14-23, 2017 – RV Summer Campout – Oceano, CA more...
• November 3, 2017 – CRA Annual Golf Tournament – Corona, CA more...
• January 22-24, 2018 – CRA's 2018 Rental Rally Trade Show,
Las Vegas, NV more...

This month we are interested in your company's online advertising – what you use and how satisfied you are with the results. Here are the responses to the June survey.