July 19, 2018

Dear NJGCA Member:

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

Here is what you will find in this edition:

CASHLESS PAYMENTS TRENDING IN SMALL BUSINESSES
DINER TOUR
FIRST OFFICIAL YOUNG PROFESSIONALS MEETING

An emerging phenomenon that may seem surprising to you, as it is certainly surprising to me, is that a growing number of businesses are rejecting payments with cash and requiring payment in the form of a credit or debit card only. On the surface, this seems dumb since the merchant then has to pay the fees associated with using those cards, whereas there are no fees with accepting cash. However, there are a number of security issues that are eliminated when a business does not handle cash, and this is becoming very attractive. As a result, many states, including New Jersey, are looking at passing laws that will prohibit a merchant from not accepting cash, which has been deemed as legal tender by the federal treasury. Frankly, I think it is just a matter of time before somebody takes this to court and lets the court decide if in fact merchants must accept cash. This may seem silly in your auto repair shops since my recollection running a shop was that I was joyful when customers chose to pay me with cash rather than credit card or even a check. However, it is the large amount of cash that used to be customary in our shops that created the culture that is being targeted by the United States Department of Labor; since cash has a tendency to go unreported. There are instances when it is not only easier to accept a credit card, but is really the only option available. I am sure many of you look forward to the day when a completely unmanned gasoline retail location can be open and serving customers by virtue of accepting credit cards when there is no attendant on duty to accept cash. You may remember recently, we have written about Amazon’s experiment with frictionless payments that don’t even require a credit card. A customer can walk into the store and carry out their goods without ever stopping at a cash register. Sensors will know who the customer is and what products were purchased. Customer’s credit card or bank account will be automatically billed. This is another disruption that your business will have to adjust to, and I expect it will take on a life of its own.

L to R Top Row: Egg Harbor Diner Tour at the Shore Diner, Communications Director Michelle Horowitz and NJGCA raffle winner Larry Valenzano
Bottom Row: Bellomo Fuels Rich Martin with Bellomo raffle winner William Diaz

We had a successful event yesterday in Egg Harbor at the Shore Diner on Wednesday, where we had an opportunity to hear from our members and MBP’s about questions regarding their business, what’s going on in Trenton and Washington, and other items that NJGCA should be aware of. Some of the issues that were discussed included self-serve, minimum wage, changing employment policies and the potential for another gas tax increase in October. These Diner Tours are an opportunity for our association to connect with our members from all parts of the state over free breakfast sponsored by our MBP’s. We hope to continue these events in the future, as we value the opportunity to have productive discussion with you.

The Young Professionals Steering Committee convened their first official meeting last week and are planning a kick-off event for Thursday, September 20th. Mark your calendars. Details and location are still being finalized, however, we will be sending a notice to all members and encourage the young people in our industry to meet each other and participate. We had excellent feedback after the event and hope to see this group grow, please contact Michelle or Eric if you would like to be included on email notifications about the next event, or know of someone who may be interested in joining.

That's all for this week-
Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

NEWS AROUND THE STATE: THE NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

7/19/18
Trump Promised Them Better, Cheaper Health Care. It’s Not Happening.
President Donald Trump handed an influential business advocacy group what should have been a historic lobbying victory when he recently rolled out new rules encouraging small businesses to band together to offer health insurance. Trump, who’s touted the expansion of so-called association health plans as a key plank in his strategy to tear down Obamacare, even announced the rules at the 75th anniversary party of the National Federation of Independent Business last month, claiming the group’s members will save “massive amounts of money” and have better care if they join forces to offer coverage to workers. But the NFIB, which vigorously promoted association health plans for two decades, now says it won’t set one up, describing the new Trump rules as unworkable. And the NFIB isn’t the only one: Several of the nationwide trade groups that cheered Trump’s new insurance rules told POLITICO they’re still trying to figure out how to take advantage of them and whether the effort is even worth it. That could signal there’s minimal early interest in an initiative the administration says will help lower health care costs — and one that Trump himself has prematurely hailed as a wild success. Trump falsely claimed during rallies in recent weeks that “millions” are signing up, though the new health plans can’t be sold until Sept. 1.

7/19/18
Our View: NJ Adroitly Ensures Consumers Get Gasoline They Pay For
It was reassuring this month when the N.J. Division of Consumer Affairs announced the results of its Operation Summer Octane effort. For two weeks, state and local officials tested 371 of the state’s 3,000 gas stations to see if their premium grades of gasoline deliver the advertised octane rating. With premium selling for about 50 cents per gallon more than regular gas in New Jersey, station owners may be tempted to mix some of the cheaper gas with the premium. The difference they can pocket exceeds the 10 cents per gallon stations typically make. The good news is Consumer Affairs said just two of the 371 stations — fewer than 1 percent — failed to deliver their advertised octane ratings and were charged. One is in Trenton, but the other is USA Gas on Landis Avenue in Vineland. Violations of the state regulations and motor fuel laws are punishable by civil penalties of $100 to $1,500 per violation. . .The N.J. Gasoline, C-Store, Automotive Association welcomed Operation Summer Octane. It had suggested such checks be done annually as part of each station’s meter testing. “There is such an overwhelmingly unfair advantage if a retailer commingles regular grade gasoline into the premium inventory,” said Executive Director Sal Risalvato. Risalvato praised Consumer Affairs for its professionalism and contrasted it sharply with a three-day crackdown in 2008 that he called a “fraudulent clown show.” That included Attorney General Anne Milgram of Gov. Jon Corzine’s administration announcing 350 gas stations had been ticketed for ripping off motorists, who were then paying nearly $4 per gallon. The gas station association sued Milgram to obtain documents from the sweep, which Risalvato said showed only two locations were actually shortchanging motorists and both had made unintentional errors. He said Milgram just wanted “to stand on a soapbox and make herself look like a hero.”

7/18/18
1 Big Thing: Transportation Emissions Are Stubborn
Taxing U.S. carbon emissions with an escalating levy that starts as high as $73-per-ton would have a pretty small effect on carbon emissions from the transportation sector, a Rhodium Group analysis finds. Transportation has overtaken electricity as the largest source of U.S. emissions. That gentle slope in the chart above underscores why wringing CO2 out of transportation is hard, in contrast to progress underway in electricity. The report shows that a $50-per-ton tax that climbs 2% annually would cut economy-wide CO2 emissions by 39% to 47% below 2005 levels by 2030. But the vast bulk of this occurs in power.

7/16/18
Why Oil Prices Are Suddenly Tanking
Rumors about emergency action from the Trump administration helped send US crude plunging 5% on Monday, sinking to as low as $67.58 a barrel. The reversal has wiped out 9% from oil price in less than a week. US oil closed at $74.11 a barrel on July 10. Analysts blamed Monday's sell-off on reports suggesting Saudi Arabia and the United States are racing to prevent an oil shortage caused by President Donald Trump's sanctions on Iran. Late Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration is considering a rare step: teaming up with other Western countries to simultaneously release oil stockpiled for emergencies. Such a move isn't imminent and would only come if efforts to get OPEC to pump more fail to cool off prices, the paper reported. The Energy Department, which released oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve last year after Hurricane Harvey, declined to comment on the news. The White House also declined to comment.

7/15/18
NJ Lawmaker Proposes New Tax On Tap Water To Fix Pipes
Much of New Jersey’s water infrastructure system is so old and corroded that contamination in many areas is getting worse and worse. State Sen. Bob Smith, D-Middlesex, is pushing a plan to gradually overhaul the system without incurring more state debt. He said because the pipes are so ancient in many parts of the state, we have lead contamination in a number of water systems and even in schools. “It’s absolutely on the front burner of New Jersey’s concerns," he said. “Most of our water infrastructure is over a hundred years old; the infrastructure is deteriorating badly, which is one of the reasons why we’re starting to have lead leaching.” He pointed out while this issue must be addressed, everyone knows we have a serious debt problem in New Jersey so the best way to proceed is a pay-as-you-go approach. “There would be a user fee. I hate to use the three-letter word 'tax,' but a user fee for every 1,000 gallons of water of 10 cents.” Such a tax or fee would result in the average home in New Jersey paying $32 a year. It would generate about $150 million a year.

7/12/18
Vo-tech Schools Relying On Governor, Voters For Funding
The Hunterdon County Vocational School District runs Excite: Explore Careers in Technology and Engineering. Kwietniak spent one summer in culinary arts and another in automotive technology. Literally and figuratively, sparks flew for Kwietniak in this program. . . To educators, that success is being stifled across New Jersey because the equation needs more green. State lawmakers cooked up a bill to have November voters decide whether to borrow $1 billion for schools, $400 million of that to expand vo-tech high schools. Lawmakers have served the bill, that also would upgrade school security and water systems, to Gov. Phil Murphy and it awaits his action. But the manufacturing industry and the New Jersey Council of County Vocational-Technical Schools say the demand, and vo-tech schools in all 21 counties, can’t wait because technical jobs are going unfilled in New Jersey. One report says it’s getting worse.

7/12/18
Study Indicates Consumers Want EV
New research from Mintel reveals that the majority of consumers believe that electric vehicles are the future of the automotive industry (58%) and that society should transition to emission-free transportation as soon as possible (52%). A smaller ecological footprint is on many consumers’ minds as 62% say the reason they would consider a hybrid/electric model for their next car purchase is because they care about the environment. Although only 13% of consumers are either current or previous owners of a hybrid or electric vehicle, interest is high as nearly two thirds (65%) of potential car buyers say they would consider purchasing a hybrid or electric vehicle in the future, rising to 76% of Millennials (aged 24-41). And the majority of the early hybrid/electric car adopters have been convinced as 89% say they would consider purchasing another hybrid or electric vehicle in the future.

MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE BOARD:

TMP Energy Solutions

Another Way to Save on Your Energy Bills

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 PARTICIPATION: 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.

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 reflective of self-serve everywhere except NJ.