Help MAHPBA Fight Forced Electrification & Gas Bans

All across the country, a number of states and localities have implemented or proposed policies that restrict the use of gas appliances in homes and businesses. In an effort to educate our membership and their customers, and to dispel the myths created by the electrification movement, we have created this page as a resource for information.

If you have any questions or if you are aware of pending pro-electrification initiatives in your locality, please reach out to MAHPA at admin@mahpba.org or to one of our Government Affairs Committee Directors (listed below).

For your reference, we have created an informational flyer and brochure. In addition, we have created state-specific websites for states that have pending electrification legislation:

Smart Heat New Jersey

Smart Heat Maryland

MAHPBA Government Affairs Committee Contacts:

  • Rick Lapp, Chair & Delaware Director
  • Kurt Evers, Maryland Director
  • Ron Kessner & John Susnosky, New Jersey Directors
  • Justin Kaufman, Pennsylvania Director

New Jersey – LEGISLATIVE ACTION ALERT

New Jersey’s Energy Master Plan (NJEMP) requires zero-carbon fuels by 2050. While we support efforts to reduce carbon emissions, the NJEMP would require all space and water heating to be electric, eliminating affordable natural gas and propane as options. This will put the gas hearth industry in jeopardy and cost consumers $20,000 to switch to electric heat in their homes.

Senator Vin Gopal has announced that he will introduce legislation after the election prohibiting the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection and the N.J. Department of Community Affairs from adopting regulations mandating solely electric heat.

Take action now by sending an email via this link to your state Senator and Assembly member urging them to support Senator Gopal’s bill.

Tax Credit Update

JANUARY 11, 2021 UPDATE: Out with the old and in with the new! A spending legislation and pandemic relief package was signed into law at the very end of December and included a long sought-after tax credit for wood and pellet heaters. These systems, whether they are stoves purchased to heat space or larger, whole home heating systems, will now qualify for a renewable energy investment tax credit (Section 25(D) of the Internal Revenue Code). Up until now, only solar, small wind, fuel cell, and geothermal systems qualified for this credit.

Beginning in 2021, consumers buying highly efficient wood or pellet stoves or larger residential biomass heating systems will be able to claim a 26% tax credit that is uncapped and based on the full cost (purchase and installation) of the unit. The credit will remain at 26% through this year and next, and then step down to 22 percent in 2023. This provision is part of the BTU Act, which has been actively supported by HPBA for the last several years and has been part of our Advocacy Day requests to Members of Congress.

NOTE: The language that made it into the final spending package eliminates the Sec. 25(C) credit for biomass stoves. The Sec. 25(C) tax credit may still be claimed on your 2020 tax return for qualifying purchases and installations completed before December 31, 2020.

Major Biomass Stove Tax Credit Changes in 2021
Legislation is about to pass Congress which creates a NEW tax credit for biomass heaters under Sec. 25(D) of the U.S. tax code.
The Sec. 25(C) tax credit for biomass stoves is only available for qualifying products installed on or before December 31, 2020. After December 31, 2020, the new tax credit eliminates the old 25(C) tax credit. The Sec. 25(C) tax credit may still be claimed on your 2020 tax return for qualifying purchases and installations completed before December 31, 2020.


What is this new tax credit?

  • Effective Dates: The new tax credit under Sec. 25(D) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (“IRC” or “tax code”) will come into effect on January 1, 2021 for qualifying purchases and installations completed on or after that date, through December 31, 2023.
  • Credit Amount: Creates a new tax credit of 26 percent of the purchase and installation costs (with no cap or lifetime limit) under Sec. 25D of the U.S. tax code
  • Qualifying Products: Require qualifying products (any biomass-fueled heater) be at least 75 percent efficient per the higher heating value (HHV) of the fuel 
  • See EPA’s certified wood heater lists to find qualifying products (anything with an efficiency number of 75 percent or higher)
  • The IRS will likely publish additional guidance on product eligibility in 2021

What happens to the 25(C) tax credit?

  • This legislation eliminates the tax credit for biomass stoves under IRC Sec. 25(C) starting in 2021 and enacts this provision in its place
  • Any product purchased in 2020 that qualifies for the new Sec. 25(D) credit, but isn’t installed until 2021, can be claimed under the Sec. 25(D) credit on a 2021 tax return. Products may be claimed on the tax return year in which the product installation is complete. 

HPBA will continue to update our website with additional information and new materials as we learn more. Please contact Rachel Feinstein if you have any questions.

Doing Business During COVID-19

If you missed the HPBA Webinar May 1, 2020, then scroll down to watch on YouTube.


WEBINAR HIGHLIGHTS

Is it possible to do business during COVID-19?
How can you bring in revenue and keep your doors (figuratively) open when your customers are being told to stay home?

There are ways to do just that and HPBA conducted a webinar for its members to share some tips from several successful retailers.

Across the U.S. and Canada, some stores are shut down, some are partly open, and many are using this time to re-think how they do business.

Everyone agrees that the ‘new normal’ will not be the old normal anytime soon, and this includes how we work as retailers.

Hear from five retailers across the U.S. and Canada and how they are taking this time to rethink or remake how they do business. Learn how they are making lemonade out of COVID-19 lemons.

From Halifax to Spokane, and Springfield to Vancouver, these retailers are exploring new ways to do business in this strange time. What’s more, they are planning to carry these new methods into the new normal that will someday follow the pandemic. One of them has even sold more grills this April than last- “curbside only, of course”


If you have any questions on how MAHPBA can help you and your business during this time using your member benefits, please contact us.

MAPHBApalooza-ZOOM!

Education is one of the most valued benefits of being a MAHPBA member. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have made arrangements with NFI and our sponsors to offer live reviews via Zoom in lieu of the in-person NFI Reviews and Exams previously scheduled for June in Lancaster, PA.

If you had previously registered for the June trainings, no worries! You will automatically be added to the online class, unless otherwise notified. If you haven’t registered yet OR you would like to register more employees, there’s still time.

For details on the schedule, class descriptions and/or information on setting up your technology to use Zoom, please click here. Be sure to follow MAHPBA on social media including Facebook and Instagram @mid.atlantic.hpba for updates and more benefits to your membership. The MAHPBA board is committed to helping our fellow HPBA colleagues get through this unusual time and come out stronger!

COVID-19 Resources

HPBA COVID-19 Resources

HPBA webinar featuring retail members and their strategies for doing business during the COVID-19 pandemic

U.S. Small Business Administration – Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) – loans to help businesses keep their workforce employed during the crisis

OSHA Workplace Guidelines

State Resources:

Delaware Governor Carney – Executive Orders

District of Columbia Mayor Bowser – COVID-19 Resources

Maryland Governor Hogan – Executive Orders

New Jersey Governor Murphy – Executive Orders

Pennsylvania Governor Wolf – COVID-19 Resources

Introduction to “The NJ Issue”

NJ Issue Website

N.J. Administrative Code 13:32A – Also known as the New Jersey HVACR Licensing Law.

 If you are a Hearth Products Professional and you haven’t heard of this newly enforced code – PLEASE PAY ATTENTION – Because it has the potential to not only restrict the installation of gas lines but could in the future restrict the installation of Hearth Appliances and the Vent Systems that serve those appliances. The only winners here are licensed plumbers and HVACR Contractors.