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ConneCtiCut CEMA AnnounCEs thE PAssing of gEorgE "ChiP" r. Brown Jr. of CAsEy EnErgy Brown, was a longtime m e m b e r o f t h e I C P A / CEMA Board of Directors, a position he held with great pride. He was given director emeri- tus status by Charlie Isenberg shortly after his retirement from Casey Fuel in 1997, where he worked for 30 years in the family business. Brown was born on July 12, 1941, in Albany, N.Y., the son of the late George R. and Anita G. Brown. He graduated from the University School in Bridgeport and attended Iowa State University. He was a resident of Brookfield since 1954, and was very active in local poli- tics throughout his life. As a young man he contributed his time to many state and local campaigns. He served on the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Charter Revision Committee, and the Democratic Town Committee. Most notably he was the chairman of the Municipal Building Committee for three decades, where he oversaw projects such as the town hall, police station and several school additions there. He was a volunteer with many orga- nizations including the Brookfield Lions Club, of which he was a past president. He received the Melvin Jones Award and a Connecticut Knight of the Blind. Brown was vice president of Casey Fuel, a family company where he worked for 30 years. Upon retiring he pursued his passion for carpentry. His greatest joy though was being around his family and friends. Memorial contributions may be made in his memory to Ct. Lions Eye Research Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 9268 West Haven, Ct. 06533. PrEPAy ContrACt Bonding Bill BlAstEd The Department of Consumer Protection asked the Connecticut General Assembly to introduce legislation that would require prepay contracts to obtain a bond. The intent of the bonding requirement is to allow consumers who lose money when a fuel dealer closes, to recover their losses. If passed, HB 5260 would require heating fuel dealers to obtain surety bonds in amounts not less than 80% of the total amount of funds received from consumers for prepaid fuel. The bill also eliminates the option of obtaining physical inventory, futures or forwards contracts, and physical supply contracts. Eleven members of CEMA testified against the bill pointing out the expense and difficulty in obtaining bonds, and the significant flaw in removing the current requirement to obtain a futures contract to secure the fuel that you sold to your cus- tomers. While General Law Committee members seem to indicate that a bonding requirement may not be the best solution to the "Ace Oil" issue, they did express a need to "do something" this year to prevent further damage to consumers in the future. CEMA will work with legislative leaders to ensure that they understand the difference between dealers who follow the law and apply best industry practices with those that do not. CEMA would like to thank the follow- ing members for their participation in the public hearing: • Peter Aziz, Bantam Home & Energy • John Bowman, F.F. Hitchcock • Kate Childs, Tuxis Ohr's Fuel • Bruce Deitch, Deitch Energy • Scott Davis, Willis • Glenn Noble, Dependable Energy • Sharon Peterson, Apple Oil • Kevin Roman, Roman Oil • Steve Sack, Sack Distributors • Nick Scata, Tower Energy • Greg Stafstrom, Spring Brook Ice & Fuel STATE BY STATE N e w s 10 April 2014 | Fuel oil neWS | www.fueloilnews.com