November 07, 2014

Dear NJGCA Member:

Thank you for reading this week's NJGCA Road Warrior!

Here is what you will find in this edition:

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE: GREETINGS & SAL-UTATIONS! 

ELECTION RESULTS: NATIONAL AND LOCAL IMPACTS
PAID SICK LEAVE, PLASTIC BAG TAX
THE MARKETPLACE
ASSEMBLY TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE & GAS TAX HIKE

The biggest event this week was the midterm elections on Tuesday.  You all should be aware that the Republicans won a majority in the US Senate, and expanded their majority in the US House of Representatives. What does this mean for you? It simply means that you will now have even more people in Washington fighting for policies that will help small business owners.  Tax rates, minimum wage and energy policy will all be on the table. We expect one of the first issues discussed will be the Keystone Pipeline. Americans went to the polls on Tuesday and sent the message that it is time for things to start getting done. We will keep you in the loop as issues come up that will affect your businesses.
 
Now, to discuss some of the results in New Jersey.  First, I have to share the news that our good friend and champion Celeste Riley won her election for Cumberland County Clerk, which means that she will be leaving the NJ Legislature. Assemblywoman Riley's departure will be a difficult loss for NJGCA.  Additionally, Assemblyman Chivukula left the Legislature recently, when he was appointed to the Board of Utilities by Governor Christie. Finally, there is some concern that Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, who is the prime sponsor and champion of our Right to Repair legislation, will soon be appointed to the Mercer County Superior Court by Governor Christie.  NJGCA is very lucky to have formed such strong bonds with these various Democratic legislators. It is obvious that all three are well respected and extremely competent public servants, since they have all been selected to move on and serve the public and the State in different offices. We will miss them greatly.
 
In terms of policy results from Tuesday's election, I have given numerous warnings about the probability that paid sick leave will happen in NJ. Although the small business coalition that we are part of has successfully blocked it from being passed in Trenton, several large city councils have passed their own ordinances, and several other municipalities had the issue on their ballot for voters to decide. On Tuesday night, voters in Montclair and Trenton both approved that all businesses that operate in their town must provide paid sick leave to their employees. Yes, that includes gas stations with part-time employees. The approval rates were 85% in Trenton and 75% in Montclair. The likelihood that this public support will snowball the issue back into Trenton is very high, and I am not sure that our ragtag army will be successful in stopping the enemy once again.
 
On a positive note, Mercer County voters overwhelmingly rejected a non-binding referendum on Tuesday that called for a 5-cent fee for disposable plastic shopping bags. The ballot question was defeated by a margin of 61% to 39%. Proponents said that the fee would curtail pollution and help preserve the environment, while critics blasted it as another tax on citizens. We hope that this will send a very strong signal to Trenton that voters will not be happy if legislators pass a statewide law which would subject consumers to a tax for using plastic bags. Those of you with convenience stores, who would be responsible for assessing the tax on the consumer, should be very happy about this. Nevertheless, we must remain vigilant. Supporters of the proposal will continue to fight. The issue isn't dead.
 
Finally, the marketplace continues to demand our attention, and I simply cannot ignore it. I have mentioned previously that I knew prices would decline in the latter part of 2014, but I have also mentioned how surprised I am at both the rate and the amount of the decline.  I am thinking that this situation has caught most experts and analysts totally off guard. In fact, the last time that I saw this dynamic working in the marketplace was right after president Reagan took office in 1981, when one of his first acts as President was to deregulate crude oil and gas.
 
Here's what is happening now.  I know that you are all familiar with price wars on the street at the retail level. There is nobody in this business that hasn't left their blood and guts and bank accounts in the street.  However, the price war is currently taking place, not only upstream at the rack, but way upstream at the source. Refiners and oil producers have been having their own price war for the past few months, as a result of increased production and slight drops in demand. Now, due to increased production in the US and Canada, OPEC nations have started lowering their prices for crude oil to avoid a decline in volume and sales. Traditionally, OPEC has slowed their production to keep prices high. This move to lower prices on their part could force North American producers to cut their prices even further. As I am writing this, the price of crude oil is hovering around $76/barrel.  By the time you read this, it may be even lower. I think that regardless of competition, we are encroaching on the profitability point that oil producers must meet, or they too will spill their profits in the street, the same as you have, historically. I think that their profitability point is somewhere around $65-$70/barrel. I'll have more each week, as the market creates new dynamics that demand our attention.
 
Next week I will elaborate on the happenings with the Assembly Transportation Committee hearing that took place yesterday at Camden County College.  The committee is holding hearings around the State to help decide how the legislature will handle the gas tax issue and the bankrupt Transportation Trust Fund (TTF).  I was there to testify and hopefully Jacy will have the audio from the hearing posted on our website so that you can hear what I said. This issue is deadly serious and at the moment has the full attention of the entire NJGCA staff.

That's all for now.  Thanks for reading.  See you next week!

Regards,
Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

TRAINING CLASSES!!
-ALL CLASSES WILL BE HELD AT NJGCA HEADQUARTERS-
66 Morris Avenue - Springfield, NJ 07081 (Union County)

NJGCA is pleased to offer the NJ Emission Technician Education Program, starting Nov. 3rd. This is the ETEP Certification Course, the entire program, sections 1-7. This is everything you need to become a licensed Emission Repair Technician. Tests are given throughout the course and technicians that pass will receive a certificate stating that they successfully completed the New Jersey Emission Technician Education Program (ETEP). NJGCA has provided this program to the NJ Department of Transportation, UPS and NJGCA Members throughout New Jersey.  Our pass rate in this class is 100%.

NJGCA is also offering the Emission Repair Technician RE-CERTIFICATION class in December. For more information about the two classes, please see the flyer below.

FOR MORE INFO & TO REGISTER FOR THE 8 WEEK ENTIRE EMISSION TECHNICIAN EDUCATION PROGRAM (ETEP) CLASS -- SECTIONS 1 TO 7 -- OFFERED ON MONDAYS DURING NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, PLEASE CLICK  HERE.

FOR REGISTRATION INFO FOR THE EMISSION REPAIR TECHNICIAN RE-CERTIFICATION, PLEASE CLICK HERE

FUTURE CLASSES WILL BE ADDED UPON REQUEST AND ACCORDING TO DEMAND. CONTACT DEBBIE at 973-376-0066 or DEBBIE@NJGCA.ORG TO LET HER KNOW YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TAKING A SPECIFIC CLASS.  THIS WILL ALLOW US TO GAUGE YOUR NEEDS AND KEEP TRACK OF THOSE WISHING TO PARTICIPATE!!

CLASSIFIEDS! -- FOR SALE & HELP WANTED ADS 

Do you have a business for sale?  Are you looking for a new location or opportunity?

• NJGCA regularly assists members looking to sell their business by getting the word out. Since everyone reading this message is involved in the small business gasoline retail, convenience store, and automotive repair trades, it is an ideal medium to connect with interested buyers and prospects!

NJGCA also helps members sell equipment by placing ads in the Road Warrior!

• If you'd like to list equipment for sale, or have an open position you'd like to make other industry professionals aware of, please contact NJGCA at 973-376-0066 and let us help you get the word out! 

NEWS AROUND THE STATE: THE NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

11/06/2014:
N.J. gas tax would rise nearly $300 a year for average driver under bill to fix roads, rails and bridges
The sorry state of the New Jersey's roads, rails and bridges was the focus of a hearing Thursday in Camden by the state Assembly Transportation, Public Works and Independent Authorities Committee, which is meeting for the first time since its chairman proposed hiking the state gas tax by nearly $300 a year for the average motorist. A bill introduced last week by Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) would raise the gas tax by at least 25 cents a gallon, costing the average NJ motorist what he said would be "80 cents a day," based on the per-capita fuel consumption. That's $292 a year. Wisniewski said the increase would raise an additional $1.25 billion a year for the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund, which pays for state projects and provides aid counties and municipalities, but is projected to run out of cash next year for anything other than debt payments. The bill, A-3886, would target the state's petroleum products gross receipts tax, now levied at a rate of 4 cents per gallon on wholesale purchases of gasoline by distributors at refineries. The legislation would not only raise the petroleum tax, it would change the way it is calculated. Instead of straight cents-per-gallon formula, the bill would charge distributors 9% of the retail price of gasoline. Revenues under the new calculation could rise with rising gas prices, but the bill sets Aug. 2014 gas prices as a minimum baseline for calculating the tax, guarding against fall prices.  
 
11/05/2014:
The Senate Has a Filibuster-Proof Pro-Keystone XL Majority
Following an election night that saw anti-Keystone Democrats replaced by pro-Keystone Republicans, the oil-sands pipeline project now appears to have at least 60 supporting votes. That means legislation forcing approval of the long-delayed project may be headed to President Obama. Before the election, at least 57 senators could be counted on to support pro-Keystone legislation, but that was never enough to beat a filibuster from the project's opponents. Republicans added 4 pro-pipeline votes to their ranks, and none of the 57 seats that were held by pro-Keystone lawmakers were surrendered to anti-pipeline newcomers. House Republicans also have all the votes they need to approve pro-Keystone measures and indeed did so on several occasions last Congress. So in the Congress to come, it appears that -- absent a change of heart or unexpected Senate exit from one of the project's supporters -- the last hurdle to Keystone legislation is a veto from Obama. The president has said he will only approve Keystone XL if it does not significantly add to carbon emissions in the atmosphere. A State Department review of the project in January found that it would not, a conclusion touted by the project's supporters but criticized by its opponents.
 
 
11/04/2014:
Mercer County referendum on 5-cent fee for plastic bags is soundly rejected by voters
Mercer County voters overwhelmingly rejected a non-binding referendum on Tuesday that called for a 5-cent fee for disposable plastic shopping bags. The ballot question was defeated by a margin of 61% to 39%. Proponents said the fee would curtail pollution and help preserve the environment, while critics blasted it as another tax on citizens. Phillip Miller, executive director of the Mercer County Improvement Authority estimated based on national figures, roughly 1.5% of waste in the county stream can be attributed to plastic bags, sacks and wraps – though he emphasized it is impossible to determine how much of that is attributable to disposable plastic shopping bags. Of the 222,525 tons of waste handled every year in Mercer, approximately 3,338 tons of the bags, sacks and wraps are processed – at an annual cost of approximately $363,074.

11/04/2014:
Nation's first soda tax is passed in Berkeley, CA
Berkeley, Calif., became the first U.S. city to pass a law taxing sugary drinks including sodas. More than three-quarters of the votes cast were in favor of Measure D, according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters. The measure will place a 1-cent-an-ounce tax on soft drinks. It only needed a majority of "yes" votes to pass. In nearby San Francisco, city voters rejected a similar measure to tax sugary drinks. The measure needed two-thirds of the vote to approve the two-cent tax. Proponents of the Berkeley tax say the fee will help curb consumption of sodas, energy drinks and sweetened iced teas, beverages they say are contributing to the nation's obesity epidemic. That argument echoes calls made by other cities that have also tried to pass soda taxes but have failed in the face of well-funded opposition from soda manufacturers. Notably, former NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg's attempted ban on large-size sugary beverages was blocked by a New York state judge. Berkeley, which makes flouting the national norm a point of pride, managed to override its own soda-backed opposition.

MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE BOARD:

TMP Energy Solutions
Another Way to Save on Your Energy Bills

We have had a number of NJGCA members successfully reduce their rate per kWh signing up through our energy saving program. We know it's difficult to collect 12 months worth of previous electric bills to get an "accurate" analysis when comparing a variable rate to a fixed rate, but we now have another option available. 

This new solution is a power purchase option; the other program is still in full force and has saved members thousands of dollars. If you sign up for the power purchase option, you will be grouped with other NJGCA members until the minimum KW demand is acquired. By pooling the member's usage together, you will be able to take advantage, as large energy users do, and receive a lower kWh rate.

Each member will receive their own contract. Each member is responsible to sign and return the agreement the day it is received in order to secure the price for their group.

Please do your due diligence, so when you receive the proposal and the agreement you will be able to make an intelligent decision.

If by chance, you still want us to assess you bills, to give you a price to compare, we will require12 months of your most recent utility bills.

There are no bills required, but we would still like to have one bill per meter on file to check account #'s, meter #'s  service addresses and other pertinent information incase there is a problem.

The term of the agreement is for 12 months. During this term period, you will have price protection against any energy price increases along with a low fixed kWh rate.

If you are interested in becoming part of this power purchase option, please contact Greg Cannon at the NJGCA.

Remember when you sign up your energy through the NJGCA Energy Program, TMP makes a considerable donation to the NJGCA Scholarship Fund through their proceeds. This has no affect on your rate, and costs you nothing out of pocket.

We hope to help hundreds of NJGCA members reduce their utility costs by participating in this and our other cost reduction programs.  Our purpose, in the endeavor, is to help NJGCA members lower their energy costs while supporting the NJGCA Scholarship Fund. 

Contact GREG CANNON at 973-376-0066 or email Greg at greg@njgca.org. Mention that you are interested in saving money on your energy bills. NJGCA & TMP Energy Solutions will handle all the rest.