January 21, 2016

Dear NJGCA Member:

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

Here is what you will find in this edition:

Prepare for State of Emergency Declaration and Gouging Laws
Efforts to Increase Tobacco Age to 21
NJGCA Auto Repair and Tire Shop Summit

First, just a reminder to keep your eye out for a State of Emergency to be declared as a result of the expected snowstorm. As you all know, gouging laws will be in effect once a State of Emergency is declared, and will remain in effect for 30 days. You all know enough to avoid the temptation to hike up prices just because consumers are lining up at your pumps. If you do the right thing, you’ll stay out of trouble.

On the other side of the coin, we saw news this week out of Michigan that some gas stations were selling gas for as little as 46 cents per gallon. Clearly, they don’t have below cost selling laws like we do. We are very proud of our below cost selling legislation, and our accomplishment this past year in passing the rewards bill which will continue to prevent below cost selling in the form of rewards programs.

Next, the bill to increase the tobacco purchase age from 19 to 21 was vetoed by Governor Christie this week. However, as expected, the Democrats are starting early, and the bill will be on the agenda for the first Senate Health Committee hearing of the new legislative session, scheduled for Monday. We will continue to monitor the bill’s progress and be involved on this issue as we see fit to protect our c-store members.

Next, I want to send another reminder about NJGCA’s Auto Repair and Tire Shop Summit on February 10th. Just this morning, I had back-to-back meetings with two of the potential vendors/bidders for the State’s new inspection contract. I am so certain that this event will be worth the $39 registration fee that if you come away from the event and tell me that you didn’t learn anything new, I’ll take $40 off your next year of membership dues. I’ve put together a great program featuring:

I’ve done all that I can do. The rest is up to you. To register now, click HERE.

Finally, be on the look-out for the OTR in your mailboxes next week. You will find lots of useful information in there, including a special segment on the Summit that we have planned for February 10th. The success of this organization relies on an informed and active membership!

Thanks for reading -- See you all next week!

Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

Emission Repair Technician ENTIRE Training Course
Eleven (11) Full Days -- 9 AM to 5 PM on Tuesdays
January 12, 19, 26 ... February 2, 9, 16, 23 ... March 1, 8, 15, 22

Emission Repair Technician Re-Certification Class
Four (4) Full Days
Days: 9AM - 5PM on Tuesdays -- March 1, 8, 15 22

For more details on all of these classes, click HERE.
For a registration form for any of these classes, click HERE.

FUTURE CLASSES WILL BE ADDED UPON REQUEST AND ACCORDING TO DEMAND. CONTACT DEBBIE at 732-256-9646 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 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.

1/18/16:
N.J. gas prices: Why they could keep falling
With $1.50 gas in the rear view mirror at most of the lowest-priced gas stations in the state, how low can prices at the pump go? That question might seem rhetorical with the price of crude oil tumbling under $30 a barrel, to close out last week at $29.70, according to the NASDAQ website. The price of wholesale gas also ended the week with a decline slide to barely above $1 a gallon. The Raceway station on Oak Tree Road in Edison had the lowest gas price in the state on Jan. 15. Our gas guru, Jeff Pelton, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com predicted the pump prices could dip another nickel and predicted prices could drop below the $1.40 mark this week as the price of wholesale gas, also known as RBOB, approaches $1 a gallon. "Expect short term retailers to drop anywhere from four to five cents as they enjoy this weeks RBOB declines. I think we can expect the next price point to go will be $1.39," he said. Drivers woke up Monday to find the average prices at $1.75 a gallon and two stations in Edison and Perth Amboy selling regular for $1.45 cash, according to GasBuddy.com. Plenty of stations among GasBuddy's lowest of the low price listings are at $1.47 a gallon.

1/18/16:
The 2016 Forecast for Tobacco
Tobacco retailers know the category has been faced with some challenges over the past few years, especially with cigarette volumes steadily decreasing and alternative products fighting for space. But 2015 told a different story and 2016 is expected to be a continuation of that tale. After many cycles of decline, cigarettes rebounded slightly in the past year with 2015 unit volume growth per store estimated at 0.7% and total industry unit volume growth estimated at 1.5%. That's quite a jump from 2014 declines of 3.1% and 1.9% respectively. The upswing is expected to continue this year, albeit at a slightly lower rate. Specifically, the 2016 forecast places unit volume growth per store at 0.3% and total industry unit volume growth at 1.2%. And no surprise here: Cigarette costs are expected to rise again. Manufacturer list prices are forecast to jump from $36.14 per carton in 2014 to $38.14 this year. Taxes are also increasing. Federal, state and local taxes combined per carton are forecast to rise from $20.92 in 2014 to $21.32 in 2016. New York still has the highest state levy at $4.35 per pack, a number that has held steady over the past few years and is almost $3 more than the average state tax.

1/18/2016:
The North Dakota Crude Oil That's Worth Almost Nothing
Oil is so plentiful and cheap in the U.S. that at least one buyer says it would need to be paid to take a certain type of low-quality crude. Flint Hills Resources LLC, the refining arm of billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch’s industrial empire, said it would pay -$0.50 a barrel Friday for North Dakota Sour, a high-sulfur grade of crude, according to a list price posted on its website. That’s down from $13.50 a barrel a year ago and $47.60 in January 2014. While the negative price is due to the lack of pipeline capacity for a particular variety of ultra low quality crude, it underscores how dire things are in the U.S. oil patch. U.S. benchmark oil prices have collapsed more than 70% in the past 18 months and fell below $30 a barrel for the first time in 12 years last week. West Texas Intermediate traded at $29.03 as of 11:13 a.m. on 1/18 in New York.

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 require 12 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 732-256-9646 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
4900 Route 33 West, Suite 100
Wall Township, NJ 07753
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.

*NEW*Energy Information Agency Weekly Retail Gasoline Prices

Each week, the Energy Information Administration publishes a list of average gasoline prices for the previous three weeks. NJGCA will begin including this list with the Weekly Road Warrior. Remember, these prices are for reflective of self-serve everywhere except NJ.