May 8, 2015

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! 

GOV SIGNS REWARDS BILL -- RETAILERS SAVE THOUSANDS
SETBACK ON RIGHT TO REPAIR
PREVENTING THE CLOSURE OF BASE McGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST
BE ACTIVE IN NJ LOTTERY SURVEYS & PREVENT INTERNET LOTTERY

I am thrilled to report that we started off our week with great news from Trenton. In our LONG battle to protect you from paying any costs associated with your brand's rewards programs, we were VICTORIOUS. This recent round was a three-year effort, but in total it has been a six-year effort to give you the ability to offer rewards and not pay for them. Three years ago we had legislation passed, which was a win for you and a win for your customers, but the oil companies, being what they are, found a loophole in the legislation and came up with a way to charge you a "transaction fee" for the rewards. We felt that this was a violation of the spirit of the original law, and it took us three more years to change to loophole, due to the constant opposition that we faced from companies like Exxon, Sunoco and Wawa, to name a few.
 
As a result, those of you in the Exxon Plenti program will now save the $500/month that Exxon was charging, and those of you with BP stations will no longer be charged the 2.5 cents/gallon in their rewards program.  This is a significant amount of money back in your pockets, and NJGCA, along with FMANJ, fought tirelessly on your behalf to get this accomplished. Please CLICK HERE to send a note of appreciation to Governor Christie for acting to sign this legislation and help protect your business!
 
On the topic of rewards, I wanted to share with you an interesting article that I saw this week "Shoppers Prefer Grocery Rewards over Fuel Savings."  The article indicates that a new survey suggests that supermarkets might get more bang for their buck by discounting groceries instead of funding fuel rewards. That could mean bad news for the motor fuel industry, which has relied heavily on fuel rewards partnerships with grocers to encourage repeat business. The preference for grocery specials is strongest in the Northeast, where 81% said they would opt for grocery discounts over gas savings. For the entire article, please click here.
 
Unfortunately, Monday also had a difficult setback.  We were all ramped up to testify in the Senate Commerce Committee on Right to Repair when the bill was pulled from the Committee agenda. It seems Senate President Sweeney is being influenced by the car manufacturers.  Our efforts won’t end though and I have scheduled a meeting with his staff next week before I leave for Washington. It would be nice if our opponents weren't always the biggest corporations in the world on the issues that we bring to the legislature!  I will keep you posted as we proceed.
 
Last month, I discussed the possibility that Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst could be slated for closure. I explained that I had no intention of involving the organization in military affairs, and I still do not. However, we have tons of members in the region of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and I am very concerned for their economic future. I was informed about the various ways that the Obama Administration was plotting to find loopholes in the law, in order to transfer or retire the fleet of KC-10 refueling tankers stationed at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, which would also make it easier for them to close the base.  It became imperative that I paid attention to what's going on. I just received news that the House Armed Services Committee approved a bill that would block a new round of base closures in the upcoming fiscal year, as well as prevent transfer or retirement of the Air Force’s fleet of KC-10 refueling tankers stationed at the Base. This is good news and these are positive steps toward reinforcing the importance of keeping the base open.  However, like all fights we encounter, this dragon has not been slain yet, so I must continually monitor the situation.
 
Finally, in January I sent out a survey asking how you thought the NJ Lottery is being run. As you know, it's now operated by a private company, NorthStar, and they are very interested in your comments. I meet regularly with lottery officials to keep updated on the entire lottery system, and it is critical to all of us that lottery revenues continue to grow. As such, they need your feedback! They are currently recruiting a special group of New Jersey Lottery retailers to be part of our online community called Game Changers -- and they would like you to be one of them! You will receive surveys to get your opinion on new games, in-store advertising as well as general feedback on how the NJ Lottery is performing at your store! Interested? Copy and paste the URL below into your browser: https://www.njgamechangers.com/R.aspx?a=10

This could have a lasting impact on the future of the lottery as we know it. If we are successful at getting lottery revenues to grow, it reduces the appeal of some of the income-raising options such as internet lottery. I continue to be suspicious and worried that at some point in the near future it will become a fierce battle that we will have to wage. This theory is just an instinct at this time, and I hope that I am wrong.

Finally, for anyone who lives, or operates their business, near our Office Headquarters in Springfield, please join us on Wednesday 05/13 at our next NJGCA Breakfast Meeting.  The meeting will be held at the West 22 Diner at 272 US Highway 22, Springfield. The meeting begins at 9:30am and is free for members, compliments of our valued Member Benefit Partners (Affinity Federal Credit Union, First Data Credit Card Processing, Gill Energy, Hough Petroleum, Service Station Vending Equipment and TMP Energy Solutions). One lucky member who is in attendance will win a $50 American Express gift card from NJGCA! For more information, please call 973-376-0066 and ask for Jacy.

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)

For info on the ENTIRE ETEP course, and the ETEP Re-Certification courses that NJGCA is offering, please click HERE.

To access the registration form and payment info, 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 

NJGCA MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNERS LOOKING TO HIRE!

GILL ENERGY:

District Manager
Store Manager
Trucking Operations Manager

For more information about these positions, and to submit a resume for consideration, please contact: ravigill@gillenergy.com.

NEWS AROUND THE STATE: THE NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

05/07/2015:
No way N.J. drivers will pump their own gas, officials say
Don't worry, NJ drivers who can't be bothered to get out of your cars: You're not going to have to pump your own gas any time soon. The legislature in Oregon -- the only other state that bans self-serve gas -- is considering a bill that would allow residents in more than half its counties to pump their own gas. But the people who make the law in NJ aren't planning anything similar. In other words, you're not going to get them to hold a pump unless you put it in their cold, dead hands. "Not as long as I'm Senate President," said state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, who decides what goes up for a vote in the upper house. "I think our system works. It's not broken." A spokesman for Christie declined to comment on a "hypothetical bill." But Christie himself is on the record about the idea. "It's never going to happen," Christie said in 2012. "There is just no appetite, Republicans or Democrats in the legislature, to make us a completely self–serve state... People in New Jersey love the idea that they've got somebody to pump their gas." Assembly Democratic spokesman Tom Hester, Jr. said that he knew of no legislation similar to Oregon's and that Prieto would not support it.

05/06/2015:
First Self-Driving Truck Ready To Hit The Road
The first self-driving truck has been licensed for commercial use -- becoming the largest autonomous vehicle yet to hit the roadways. Germany's Daimler manufactured the vehicle and says the approval in the US state of Nevada is the first step towards transforming transport as we know it. The vehicle can handle long-haul motorway driving, which is the main cause of driver fatigue, but still needs a driver to take over in situations deemed too complicated for the on-board computer. A human might take the controls when moving in and out of distribution centers and driving through busy city streets. While the vehicle is driving itself, Daimler says the driver is free to perform back-office tasks such as handling bookings and billing, or planning future itineraries. Daimler executive Wolfgang Bernhard said: "This is not a testing license. This is a full operating license. We believe that these vehicles and systems are ready." The company says the system must be "significantly safer than any human being" to be a success.
 
05/05/2015:
Christie signs ban on customizing NJ trucks to belch thick black smoke
An odd facet of the culture war is now illegal in NJ. Gov. Christie today signed legislation to ban the practice of "coal rolling," in which drivers modify diesel trucks to belch thick black smoke -- often as a show of defiance towards environmental policies and technology. "Coal rolling increases air pollution in New Jersey and creates unsafe driving conditions on New Jersey's already congested roadways," said Assemblyman Tim Eustace. "By banning coal rolling, this law will build upon a history of environmental protection in our state." Eustace, who drives a small electric car, got the idea for the bill from personal experience. While driving his Nissan Leaf, a raised pick up truck in front of him engulfed his car in a cloud of smoke.

05/03/2015:
E-cigarettes / Tough to tax
Use of electronic cigarettes is soaring, and smoking of traditional cigarettes is declining. Researchers and regulators are trying to figure out the public health implications, but this much is clear: The change will be bad for state and federal budgets. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month reported that last year, for the first time, more high schoolers tried e-cigarettes -- personal vaporizers for delivering nicotine without the tar from burning tobacco -- than regular smoking. For those already addicted to nicotine and smoking, e-cigs have some obvious advantages. In a Press of Atlantic City report last week, users said they "can breathe a lot better" and "feel 100x better" than they do smoking traditional cigarettes. And their risk of cancer is almost certainly reduced. The CDC said 13.4% of high school students had tried vaping in the past month in the 2014 survey, up from 4.5 percent the year before. That's worrisome, since vaporized nicotine is just as addictive as the form in smoke, so some youngsters are stumbling into a lifetime of use or a difficult withdrawal. The ban on sales of e-cigarettes to juveniles is therefore appropriate.

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.