You might remember from last week’s Road Warrior that Sal is away this week and has handed the Road Warrior reins over to me. You may have read a bit about me in the last edition of the On the Road newsletter; I’m very excited to have joined the team at NJGCA and look forward to ongoing communications with our members! 

For those of you with auto repair shops, if you fix or service Air Conditioning Systems, you need to make sure you are licensed in the Refrigerant Recovery and Recycling Program. The EPA requires service technicians that work on mobile A/C systems to take the Section 609 Technician Training Program. We heard the EPA is visiting shops and issuing costly violations of as much as $500 for not having the proper training. We reached out to our partner at Autopart International who informed us that they will not sell the refrigerant to customers without proof they have the proper training. You can get this training for as little as $19.00 through ASE. Click here for the direct link to the training program.

NJGCA members recently reached out to us for help regarding their Community Right To Know Survey (CRTKS). It appears New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has changed the survey and some of the information you need to complete. We reached out to NJDEP for assistance in helping you, the new survey requires you to complete additional steps regarding the chemicals you have at your location that are above the threshold allowance. Gasoline, diesel, propane, lead, sulfuric acid, kerosene, and waste oil are just some of the chemicals that are usually at gas stations and auto repair businesses and are reportable for being over the reporting ranges. The new prompts ask you to check off the “Physical and Health Hazards” regarding each chemical you report on. We received a guidance document from NJDEP with samples on how to fill out the new survey, click here to view this document and check back in the coming weeks for more information.

Finally, we have mentioned previously that all sites with USTs will be required to have Class A, B, and C operators certified by October 2018.  Many of you have already taken the class offered only at Rutgers. More classes are being scheduled at the Rutgers Bordentown, New Brunswick, and Morris Township locations. Here is a helpful link:  http://www.cpe.rutgers.edu/brochures/intros/ust-AB.html

• March 8, 2018 - Morris Township, NJ Sold Out!
• April 13, 2018 - Bordentown, NJ Sold Out!
• May 2, 2018 - New Brunswick, NJ
• June 22, 2018 - Morris Township, NJ
• July 13, 2018 - Bordentown, NJ

NOTE: In order to complete your certification, you MUST register for the exam through ICC. Completion of the A/B operator training program requires passing the Class A/B operator examination given by the International Code Council (ICC). For more information about ICC test procedures, please visit https://www.iccsafe.org/wp-content/uploads/UST-AST_EIB.pdf.

To register for the exam, visit https://www.iccsafe.org/certification-exam-catalog. Use the exam code "NJ" to search for the exam and register. If you have any questions, contact debbie@njgca.org

On to our policy updates: It’s been a busy week in Washington with the recent release of President Trump’s budget and infrastructure plans for Fiscal Year 2019. President Trump has a vision for new bridges, highways, and roads across the country to improve and expand our nation’s infrastructure, and he would like to pay for it with a nationwide gas tax increase of 25˘ a gallon. New Jersey is no stranger to using gas taxes to pay for infrastructure projects; in 2016 Governor Christie and the Legislature enacted a 22.6˘ gas tax increase to fund the state’s Transportation Trust Fund. While the national Chamber of Commerce has endorsed an increase of that size, it seems highly unlikely that many Republicans in Congress will back an increase that would more than double the current tax rate of 18.4˘ a gallon for gas and 24.4˘ for diesel. We will be sure to keep our ears to the ground as more information on the tax is released.

Another policy issue we will be paying attention to for our convenience store owners are potential changes to the federal SNAP program (formerly known as food stamps). The Trump Administration proposed changes to the federal SNAP program, which provides assistance to low-income families to purchase groceries. The new proposal would reduce electronic benefits and instead would send a portion of benefits as USDA food packages for households receiving $90 or more per month in benefits. This would reduce customer choice and leave customers with less money to spend in actual stores. Big Food manufacturers are supporting this idea since the government would be buying the packaged goods from them. This change would roll back the successful free-market program in place now, and will be opposed by national food retailer groups.

I’m sure you all are paying close attention to lottery sales in the state, as ticket sales have decreased in the last year. We have discussed over the years the State’s privatization of the marketing of the lottery, with the contractor, Northstar, promising increases in revenue to the state. 2017 saw a decrease in sales, though some arguments credit this as a result of an unprecedented Powerball jackpot the year before and other external factors. We will continue to closely monitor lottery sales for our lottery retailer members.