April 21, 2016

Dear NJGCA Member:

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

Here is what you will find in this edition:

FORMAL COMMENTS ON NEW EMISSIONS INSPECTION PROGRAM
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY BUDGET COMMITTEE HEARINGS
CONSUMER AFFAIRS INVESTIGATING REPAIR SHOPS
WEST ORANGE RAISES TOBACCO SALE AGE TO 21 AND APPROVES $1,200 ANNUAL FEE ON ALL E-CIGARETTE RETAILERS

Before any of the recently-proposed changes to the Emissions Inspection Program can be made, (such as allowing commercial vehicles inspections to occur only at PIFs, and eliminating tailpipe inspections), a formal process to adopt a change in regulations must be completed. The deadline to send in final comments on the proposed regulations was last week and you can read NJGCA's comments HERE. Though we submitted comments for the record and participated in the official public comment period, the relationship that we have with the Motor Vehicle Commission allowed us many other opportunities over the past three years to share our concerns and recommendations, both in person and in writing, including those provided to us by NJGCA's Inspection Committee of member shops.

Next, last week Eric and I attended the Assembly Budget Committee hearing where the legislators discussed the upcoming budgets for the Department of Transportation and the Motor Vehicle Commission. Then this week, we attended the Senate Budget Committee hearing which did the same thing. Back in February, the Governor finalized a proposed budget, which the Legislature must now analyze in order to create the budget that they will present to the Governor. During these hearings, the Chief Administrator of Motor Vehicle Commission, Executive Director of NJ Transit, and DOT Commissioner were asked to discuss budget requirements for the upcoming year, operations in their respective departments, and plans for operational changes.

The lion's share of both hearings was dedicated to the looming Transportation Trust Fund crisis, which won't have one penny to fill one pothole, as of July 1, although the DOT Commissioner did say that they have funds that will last until sometime in August. So, this makes me circle back to the inevitability of an increase in the gas tax, which is staring us straight in the face. I know that I've been saying this for two years, but there is no alternative, the only question is, which method will be chosen and how painful will it be? One recently-introduced proposal is from Senator Paul Sarlo, Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, who has been a friend to NJGCA (you may remember that last year he introduced legislation to allow self-serve). He is proposing raising the gas tax by about 15¢, eliminating the estate tax, increasing the income tax exemption on retirement income, and creating a state income tax deduction for charitable giving. The idea would be “tax fairness” because the amount of money being sucked out of the private economy in the form of the increased gas tax will be roughly the same amount that will no longer be confiscated from the economy in the form of those three taxes.

Additionally, Motor Vehicle Chief Ray Martinez received some questions from legislators about closing the central inspection lanes and total privatization of the Emissions Inspection Program, but they were geared more towards the Legislature NOT wanting to close the central lanes and have constituents then pay YOU for an inspection. Several legislators made my blood boil, as their line of questioning swirled around the fact that a completely privatized system may encourage fraud and allow shop owners to take advantage of the motorists by either doing or recommending unnecessary repairs.

This is a perfect opportunity for me to shift to another subject: I have indications that the State Department of Consumer Affairs is conducting covert inspections in auto repair shops, trying to uncover dishonest practices. I will tell you, their actions are not totally unwarranted, as just this week an honest member came to me with a repair estimate from another shop because he had thoroughly inspected the vehicle in question and determined that NONE of the work that had been prescribed was actually necessary! This type of dishonesty and fraud is unacceptable at all levels, and I am actually going to turn the guy in myself for engaging in this behavior and attempting to take advantage of a customer.

But, getting back to the Department of Consumer Affairs and this new undercover initiative, I've already made it very clear that I will not be happy if they are using this initiative to raise money, and start fining otherwise honest business owners for technical mistakes and errors. However, I will stand with any prosecutor that uncovers wrongdoing and dishonesty. Here's an example of what will make me angry about their effort: If they come to your location and you distinguish yourself by honestly fixing the problem with the covert vehicle, not suggesting/recommending unnecessary repairs, but you are then cited for improper signage or an error on the customer's invoice. That, to me, is playing "gotcha." However, if the undercover agent finds that you took advantage of a situation and charged for replacing a part that had been merely disconnected to create an error code, then they will be justified in charging you with fraud, and NJGCA will NOT be on your side. Since this was just brought to my attention, I am looking into this initiative and I will report back to you as I learn more.

Finally, Tuesday night was another defeat in West Orange, as the Council voted to raise the age from 19 to 21 for the sale of all tobacco products, and imposed a $1,200 annual license fee on any retailer selling electronic cigarettes. I just learned today that the town of Maplewood is considering introducing similar legislation, so we will add that to our list of towns causing trouble. As I continue to say, we need the help of our small business owners, we can't do this alone. Last week, NJGCA created an informational flyer about this dangerous and harmful proposal that we will send to members in all affected towns. It's critical that members not be complacent or apathetic and attend these town council meetings with us. Members in West Orange are now faced with a $1,200 annual fee just for selling e-cigarettes in their stores. If you don't want this to happen to you, it's time to stand up and get involved!

Thanks for reading -- See you all next week!

Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

Tuesday, May 17, 2016 -- 6:30 AM - 3:00 PM
Class Starts 7:00 AM (donuts and coffee provided)
Pizza and soda served at 12:00 pm
MVC Test at 1:00 PM

Cost: Member = $250
Non-Member = $300

Please bring $50.00 check made payable to NJMVC to satisfy the State's licensing fee

For more information and Registration Form, 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!!

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.

04/21/2016:
With Christie on sidelines, lawmakers work on Transportation Trust Fund plan
As Gov. Christie sits on the sidelines, Democrats and Republicans in the State Senate are working on their own to hammer out a deal on the nearly-bankrupt Transportation Trust Fund. Senate President Stephen Sweeney says legislators are trying to develop a plan that would provide a new funding solution for the trust along with the “tax fairness” that Christie and Republicans demand in return. Republican Sens. Kevin O’Toole and Steven Oroho confirmed discussions are taking place. Sweeney said a proposal presented by Sen. Paul Sarlo earlier in the week would be “part” of their ultimate plan. Sarlo, the budget chairman, said Democrats would support a phase-out of the estate tax, new exemptions on retirement income and a write-off for charitable contributions. He said, in exchange, that he wanted a revenue stream capable of supporting a $2 billion annual trust fund.

04/21/2016:
Senate Democrats Make Offer That's Easily Refused
Senate Democrats this week outlined a set of potential tax reforms as proposed trades for a gas-tax increase to fund a $2 billion annual plan for the TTF. Assemblyman Jay Webber issued the following statement: "New Jersey's number one problem is over- taxation at every level -- property taxes, income taxes, sales taxes, business taxes, you name it -- so any talk of reducing taxes is welcomed. But notice the bait-and-switch already built into this tax trade-off proposal. They would impose an immediate and permanent gas-tax increase on New Jersey's overtaxed residents in exchange for a phased-in estate-tax reduction they already plan to revoke. No sooner will the gas tax go up than will a Trenton drum-beat of 'we can't afford the tax reductions anymore' begin. The Democrats will grab-back that revenue because they refuse to control their spending, the tax trade-off deal will be tossed to the wind, and New Jerseyans will be left with an even greater tax burden. It is the tax relief that should be full, immediate, and permanent, not the tax increase.

4/18/2016:
Can anything slow N.J.'s rising gas prices?
Drivers pulling up to the pump saw constantly increasing prices last week, but will OPEC's failure to reduce crude oil production slow those increases this week? Drivers are in the middle of a transition period, with the switch underway to summer blend gas and the price hike that comes with it. The commodities market is the other wild card, which has tried to rally the price of crude oil, despite record amounts of it in storage and whether OPEC oil minsters will put the brakes on production, said Tom Kloza, analyst for the Oil Price Information Service. "Crude oil (prices) have bounced on the triumph of hope over reason that the OPEC meeting (on Sunday) will produce a production cut," said Kloza, who's seen this dance before. But the chance of OPEC nations agreeing to an oil production cut is as likely as Donald Trump selecting Rosie O'Donnell as his chief-of-staff, Kloza said last week. And he was correct. Oil producing nations failed to reach an agreement on Sunday to reduce crude oil production, Reuters reported.

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.