ONE VICTORY AND ONE DEFEAT IN TRENTON
EFFECTS OF THE GAS TAX INCREASE ON YOUR VOLUME
MARKETPLACE DYNAMICS AND IMPACT ON PRICES
BREAKFAST MEETING IN EAST BRUNSWICK, WEDNESDAY 2/15

This week, Gov. Christie had various bills on his desk that he needed to either sign or veto. Two of them were significant to NJGCA, and we actively shared our positions and lobbied the Governor and the Legislature throughout the entire legislative process.
 
I’ll start with the good news. Governor Christie signed the price gouging legislation that we wanted!  We worked very hard to get him to sign this legislation, since he is the very reason that this legislation was needed!  The last time we discussed this bill, I informed you that Gov. Christie has never rescinded any of the States of Emergency that he has declared throughout his seven years as Governor. Technically, gouging laws still remain in effect for each State of Emergency.  However, the legislation we pushed for, which was signed, will end the gouging regulations associated with each State of Emergency 30 days after the State of Emergency is declared, regardless of whether it is ever officially rescinded. Governor Christie signed this bill on Monday and we thank him for doing so.
 
However, despite this victory, we also suffered a defeat on Monday regarding lottery courier services. I want to first thank everyone who sent messages to the Governor last week, unfortunately he saw no reason to veto the bill. As of right now, this bill will permit lottery buyers (customers) to create online accounts with a courier service to place their lottery order.  The couriers are then required to make the purchase from a lottery agent (one of you) and produce proof of the purchase to the customers prior to any drawings. So, the one good provision in the bill is that the courier must still come to your location to make the purchase.  The bad part, and the reason for our opposition, is that they do not have to deliver the ticket to the consumer, as a true “courier” service would.  Yes, these courier services will charge a fee, but we anticipate that it will be minimal due to the fact that they are not responsible for making deliveries of all tickets, only the winning ones (after the fact). Depending on how small the fee is, customers may see value and convenience in this service, and instead of having 10 customers come to your store to buy lottery, you may end up with a few customers, and then a single courier who will purchase tickets for all the rest. 
 
We honestly won’t know how this is going to play out until it’s implemented. We believe there will be a lot of pitfalls, including fraud. The Head of the Lottery Commission was also adamantly opposed to the Governor signing this bill and formally shared her concerns before the decision was made. Why the Governor signed this legislation, I do not know… and perhaps I may never understand his reasoning.
 
Moving on, Eric and I met with the State Treasurer this week, as we continue to discuss and understand the mechanics involved in the quarterly and annual adjustments to the recent 23¢ gas tax increase. We presented the Treasurer with some evidence and some serious, technical concerns about how the tax is structured.  It was obvious that there are still some issues that need to be worked out in order to avoid a rather bumpy ride as we continue down this road. We’re waiting for an official analysis and opinion from the Treasury Department and will keep you informed on what we hear.
 
In the meantime, I need your help!! Last week I was quoted in a news article saying stations on the northern border with New York, and the southern border with Delaware, have been “creamed” by the gas tax in terms of a great loss of volume. You can read the article here.  I would like to educate the Governor and the Legislature and I hope that I can help prevent some of these issues which we’re anticipating, however, I need numbers from you!! The cold, hard, actual numbers of gallons that you were pumping before the gas tax increase on November 1, 2016 and after.  Compare November and December 2016 to November and December 2015.  Compare January 2017 to January 2016. Give me all the numbers you can so that I can go to the decision-makers and fight for you!
 
Finally, you may recall that a couple weeks ago, when other experts were predicting that we would see gas prices remain steady at a higher level due to OPEC’s decision to cut production, I shared my opinion that prices would start to fall much sooner than people thought. Well, this week I read a report showing that US oil consumption in January 2017 was almost 5% less than in January 2016.  Prices will remain on a downward trend if this consumption model continues throughout 2017.
 
One announcement: NJGCA will be hosting our February breakfast meeting on Wednesday, February 15 at the Colonial Diner in East Brunswick.  We will discuss all of these important issues and more, including self-serve, new NJ emissions inspection program, and answer any of your questions about what’s going on in the industry!  The meeting is from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM and your breakfast will be FREE thanks to our generous MBPs who sponsor the event. Those of you in Middlesex County will be getting phone call and email reminders, so, please respond!
 
Thanks for reading -- See you all next week!

Sal Risalvato
Executive Director