June 19, 2015

Dear NJGCA Member:

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

Here is what you will find in this edition:

I have to start out by saying a big THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to the members who have sent in donations in response to our PAC appeal. I have stayed up at night wondering how to wage successful battles against our opponents -- big oil, big car manufacturers and big labor -- all of whom make our political donations look like tiny little drops in the bucket. However, I have worked very hard to ensure that we get the most out of the donations that we make. Legislators understand that we don't have a lot of money to contribute, but by strategically placing our donations, they recognize that we are doing the best we can to show appreciation and thanks to those who champion our causes, take our side and vote for our issues in the legislature. Having said that, I want to personally thank those who responded to the PAC donation letter that we sent recently, for stepping up to the plate. If everyone helps a little, we can do a better job of protecting your businesses interests and educating legislators on the issues of critical importance.

Another big THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU goes to Kashmir Gill, Roger Verma, Avak Uzatmaciyan and Ebbie Ashabi for all of their hard work in organizing the NJGCA PAC fundraiser that I mentioned last week. It was well-attended and has also helped fund our PAC so that we can accomplish our legislative priorities this year. This is not the first time these gentlemen have answered the call of duty and their efforts are greatly appreciated. I also must say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to those who attended the event and made contributions and of course to those of you who were sponsors!

To show how some of our strategically placed "thank you" donations to legislators have worked, several members of the Legislature recently used their influence to help us win a much-needed victory in Paramus. Last week, I informed you all that Paramus was also considering an ordinance to raise the purchase age for tobacco products from 19 to 21. Just before I sat down to write this message I spoke with the Mayor of Paramus, who now understands that there are two sides to the issue, and that local business people and NJGCA members will be disadvantaged if this ordinance is passed. He has given me his word that it will be pulled from the agenda next Tuesday night. Our "thank you" contributions to several Trenton legislators who intervened and helped make this happen. It also helped greatly that several NJGCA members, whose convenience stores are located in Paramus, contacted the Mayor to express their views. When members get involved, my job is usually much easier, and our efforts are much more successful.

To those of you with convenience stores that sell tobacco products, this is a much-needed victory -- your towns are gunning for us! If someone would've told me eight years ago when I started this job that I would be spending a couple of nights a month away from home and attending local government meetings, I would have told them that they are nuts. NJGCA efforts no longer focus on Trenton and Washington DC, you can now add 565 towns across New Jersey to the list of government bodies that we must navigate. My wife isn’t happy that I'm out so often, but she understands, and as long as we can rack up a few victories, then I am having fun anyway.

Finally, I just wanted to say thank you to those who attended our breakfast meeting in Princeton this week. We had a very successful meeting and lively conversation about the issues facing the industry right now. And, two lucky NJGCA members walked away with door prizes. See the pictures below! Breakfast meetings will start up again on August 12th in Budd Lake, for those who live/work in the Western Morris/Sussex/Warren/Hunterdon County areas! We look forward to seeing you there.

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

Emissions Inspector Class being offered in Wall Township (Monmouth County) on Wednesday, August 19, 2015!!

In order to be licensed as a Motor Vehicle Emission Inspector, you must complete this course and pass a “Written Exam” given by the State of NJ. NJGCA offers this training in a ONE DAY State approved training program that will provide an understanding of inspection related issues including EPA Regulations, Safety, Diesel, Customer Service and the New Jersey State Specific Curriculum. This specially tailored NJGCA course fulfills all requirements.

CLASS DETAILS:
Class Date: Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Location: *NEW* NJGCA Office -- 4900 Route 33 West, Neptune, NJ 07753
                 **Entrance in Rear of Building, Class to be held on second floor**
Arrival Time: 7:00am
Lunch Break: 12:00pm (Pizza and soda will be served)
NJMVC Test: 1:00pm

Class Fees:
      NJGCA Members: $250.00
      Non-members: $300.00
Manuals are included and payment is due upon registration. Credit cards are accepted.

License Fee: Bring a $50.00 check made payable to NJMVC to satisfy the State’s licensing fee.

PLEASE NOTE: If you live out of state, you must bring 6 points of ID with you, such as a license, passport, healthcare card, utility bill, etc.

Click HERE for Registration Form!

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 with HUGE Auto Repair Building for Lease!!
     - Over 3,000 sq. ft., includes lifts and some equipment
    - Separate Offices and Customer Waiting Area
Location: Hackettstown, NJ (just one block off Route 46)
    - Located on busy roadway, plenty of parking & easy access!
Asking Price: $4,000/month (term of lease is flexible)
CONTACT SUSAN - 862-432-2179

NJGCA MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER GILL ENERGY LOOKING TO HIRE FOR (3) DIFFERENT POSITIONS!

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

06/17/2015:
Stop requiring drivers to register cars every year, N.J. lawmakers say
If you've had your car for 4+ years, you've gotten the notice in the mail: Time to renew your registration. And pay for it. Now two state lawmakers think NJ drivers shouldn't have to go through that anymore. Assemblymen Michael Patrick Carroll (R-Morris) and Declan O'Scanlon (R-Monmouth) introduced legislation to eliminate re-registration for passenger cars, motorcycles, and noncommercial trucks. "If the car is registered, why does it need to be registered more than once? It looks to me like it's simply a fundraising mechanism," said Carroll. "I guess the state would just have to tighten its belt. Maybe they could save it all on postage stamps sending out those things." O'Scanlon added that he previously introduced a bill that would also reduce the penalty for not having proof of registration when pulled over to just $20, instead of the current $176 -- if the car's registration is valid.

06/17/2015
BMW Wants to Put a Vehicle Charging Station In Every Street Light
For electric vehicles to truly supplant their gas-guzzling predecessors, there needs to be as many charging stations on the roads as there are gas stations -- if not more. So BMW proposes upgrading the street lights that already line roads everywhere with charging capabilities and energy-efficient lighting. Street lights are already tied in to a city’s power grid, so it only makes sense for that existing infrastructure to be used to help further the proliferation of electric vehicles. BMW’s Light & Charge concept features intelligently-controlled LED bulbs at the top to help reduce the overall cost of running the lights all night, but also a charging station on the base complete with a credit-card based payment system so anyone could stop for a few minutes of juice without the need for an attendant. The new streetlights are already being tested in Oxford, England, and are designed to be installed where there’s ample parking nearby.

06/16/2015
Gill Energy Grows as Mohawk Oil Exits
Mohawk Oil Co. Inc. has reached a deal with Gill Energy as it moves to exit the fuels business after 87 years. Matawan-based Gill Energy acquired Chester-based Mohawk Oil for an undisclosed sum. The agreement includes a collection of fee and leased retail gas assets with c-stores, service bays and snack shops, wholesale supply only accounts and assignment of the Branded Sunoco Distributor agreement, according to Petroleum Equity Group Ltd. Mohawk Oil has been owned and managed for the past 20 years by the founder's grandson. The company was the first Sun Oil (the predecessor company to Sunoco) distributor in NJ and remained one of their only NJ-based distributors for its entire history. "We are very excited to add the assets of Mohawk Oil to our growing company, and we expect a seamless transition as the businesses of Mohawk were exceptionally well-managed for three generations," said Bikram Gill, CEO of Gill Energy. Gill Energy is a family-owned and operated fuel retailer and wholesale jobber. The company currently distributes approximately 250 million gallons a year across its network of company-op retail locations, dealer sites and wholesale accounts in NJ, NY and PA. Gill Energy's brand portfolio includes BP, Sunoco, Exxon, Mobil and 76.

06/15/2015:
NYT Editorial: NJ Needs to Raise the Gas Tax to Repair Bridges and Roads
Drivers in NJ enjoy boasting about cheap gas in their state, where prices at the pump rank among the lowest in the country -- so low, in fact, that thrifty motorists passing through often pull off the NJ Turnpike to fill up. The reason for the low prices is NJ’s relatively modest gas tax. All that cheap gas carries real costs. Since gas tax revenues help pay for roads and public transit programs, the low tax has meant deteriorating bridges and pothole-strewn roads and ever higher transit fares that hurt working families. The state’s road and bridges are “old, crumbling and getting worse every day,” the state’s transportation commissioner, Jamie Fox, recently told state lawmakers. Riders on NJ Transit are about to face a 9% fare increase, in part because the state’s TTF, which helps subsidize that system and is supported by the gas tax, is about to go broke. NJ’s gas tax is 14.5 cents a gallon. That compares with 44.46 cents per gallon in NY, 40.86 cents in CT and 51.60 cents per gallon in PA. A gallon of regular gas in NJ was $2.60 on average on June 12, much cheaper than $2.92 in NY. (Some experts say NJ gas would be even cheaper if drivers were allowed to pump their own gas.)

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.

POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC

DEFENDING OUR MEMBERS.
PROTECTING YOUR INTERESTS.
ANSWER THE CALL & CONTRIBUTE TODAY!!

Promoting our agenda in Trenton is of utmost importance to NJGCA and our members.

However, in order to truly affect the debate, we must ensure our friends in the Legislature are re-elected. It is for this reason that your Association has established the NJGCA PAC.

For too long, the weight of funding our Political Action Committee, the arm of the Association responsible for political donations, has rested upon a few. This is not only unfair to those few members who have shouldered this burden, but means we are not utilizing our full strength to affect the debate in Trenton.

To truly understand the importance of supporting our allies, consider our successes in Trenton:

We defeated BELOW COST SELLING
We made history in getting FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL signed into law!
We have built large support for RIGHT TO REPAIR and got it passed out of the Assembly
We defended your small business against the false accusations of Attorney General Anne Milgram
We gained wide support to move New Jersey to an all PIF Inspection System and close the CIF lanes
...and MUCH MORE!!

In each instance, we achieved these goals with the help of our friends in the Legislature!

If every member contributes just $100.00 we will be able to provide the help necessary to ensure victory for our allies.

PLEASE SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO:
NJGCA PAC
66 Morris Avenue
Springfield, NJ 07081
Please make your donation payable to NJGCA PAC

I understand that times are tough for all NJGCA members, but this is just as important as any battle we have fought in the past.

We have made great progress in Trenton. I hope that you will answer the call.

THE MEMBER TOOL BOX

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