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September 13, 2018

Dear NJGCA Member:

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

Here is what you will find in this edition:

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE:

• Inappropriate Use of Dealer Plates; FDA Crackdown on E-Cigs; NJGCA in the News: Self-Serve; Hurricane Florence May Disrupt Gas Prices; A/B Operator Reminder; Next Week: NJGCA Young Professionals Fall Kick-Off Event

NJGCA CLASSIFIEDS
- Monmouth County: Gas Station and Repair Shop Business Since 2001
- Bergen County: Shell Gas Station with 6-Bay Repair Shop for Sale

NEWS AROUND THE STATE
• FDA Threatens To Pull Flavored E-cigarettes, Citing ‘Epidemic’ Of Teen Use
• 1 Big Thing: Energy Stakes Of Hurricane Florence
• Stricter Chinese Recycling Rules Make It Harder To Dispose Of Waste In NJ
• How C-stores Can Protect Their Tobacco Business

TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE!
??????• Emissions Inspector Training Class, WEDNESDAY September 19th, THURSDAY October 18th, THURSDAY December 6th
??????• FULL Emissions Inspector Training Class: October 8, 10, 15, 24, 29, 31, November 5, 7, 19, 26, December 3
??????• Emission Inspector Training RECERTIFICATION: November 7, 19, 26, December 3

MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE BOARD
• The Amato Agency: Garage Insurance and Workers Compensation!
• ATS Environmental: Confidence in your Tank & Compliance Testing
• Bellomo Fuel: Exceptional Service, Aggressive Petroleum Marketing
• CBIZ Insurance: Our Business is Growing Yours!
• Gill Energy: Getting you There!
• Lending Capital: "Commercial Loans Made Easy" Program
• Salomone Brothers: Tank Testing and Environmental Compliance
• TMP Energy Solutions: Another Way to Save On Your Energy Bills

POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC
• Participate in the NJGCA PAC today and help us keep our Agenda rolling in Trenton!

Energy Information Agency Weekly Retail Gasoline Prices

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE:

INAPPROPRIATE USE OF DEALER PLATES
FDA CRACKDOWN ON E-CIGS
HURRICANE FLORENCE MAY DISRUPT GAS PRICES
A/B OPERATOR REMINDER
NEXT WEEK: NJGCA YOUNG PROFESSIONALS FALL KICK-OFF EVENT

To repair shops that sell used cars and have a used car dealers license: it has come to my attention that new rules were put in place in 2016 that require a certain amount of activity with the dealer plates that have been assigned to you. MVC is trying to cut down on inappropriate use of dealer plates because apparently, there are reports of misuse with dealers using the plates as registration and insurance for their personal vehicles, as well as for friends and family. I understand that a series of letters have been sent to shops with dealer plates, verifying their vehicle sales for the past few years. In some instances, requests were made to turn in their dealer plates. This is the first time I have ever encountered this and I know that many NJGCA shop owners also sell used cars and have dealer plates. Please call me if you receive a letter.

The FDA published a press release this week announcing historic enforcement actions around the sale and marketing of e-cigarettes to minors. More than 1,300 warning letters and fines were issued nationwide to retailers who illegally sold JUUL and other e-cig products to minors after an undercover investigation over the summer. Thankfully, only 12 actions were brought against retailers in New Jersey. Sadly, two NJGCA members are on the list. However, I want to remind our members that the smoking age in New Jersey is 21, and the sale of tobacco products to minors are illegal. Please be sure you are vigilant in asking for ID before making a sale. Please contact our offices if you receive a letter as a result of this action.

I mentioned last week that we are trying to get self-serve back on the table and convince officials to recognize that the increase in the gas tax reduces our competitive edge over New York. We are still trying to convince legislators that permitting self-serve will reduce the price of gas in New Jersey and will help us compete with our neighboring states, since they are already permitted to pump their own gas. I had a chance to speak with Star-Ledger reporter Paul Mulshine about this last week, and he wrote a great article. You can read that article HERE.

By now you are all aware of a major storm hitting the southeast coast of the US. There is a possibility that this storm could have an effect in the upcoming days on the price of gasoline and diesel, since many pipelines that run thru the Carolinas are vulnerable to storm damage and power outages. If there are any supply interruptions, you will see immediate spikes in the price of gasoline. The good news is, these increases should only be temporary, and once supply is restored, a similar drop in prices should occur.

Another reminder that by October 13^th, you must have a class A/B Operator and Class C Operators at your location. If you do not have an A/B Operator by that date, you must hire one (at least temporarily) to be in compliance while you are working on obtaining your license. We understand Rutgers is offering a training date on October 19^th, but simply proving your plan to take the training class and exam is not enough to be in compliance. If you have not already, sign up to take the class and exam as soon as possible in order to be in compliance by the mandated date. For those of you who have not yet completed their training or testing, the staff here at our offices have put together a guidance document on registering for the Rutgers training, purchasing your ICC exam, and accessing the EPA practice test. Take a look at that document HERE to help you prepare for this deadline.

Finally, I want to remind our members again that if you that have young motivated people working in your shops and/or stations, or anticipate handing your business over to the next generation down the line, we hope they will be able to attend our Young Professionals Fall Kick-Off event next week on Monday, September 17th at Red Rock’s rooftop bar area from 6-8 PM. This is an excellent opportunity to network with other people with similar interests and for us to learn what new ideas, technologies, and opportunities are coming down the line which could potentially further our businesses and the industry. If you know of someone who might be interested in attending, please send them our registration page to sign up! For any of our MBPs that would be interested in sponsoring, please email either Michelle or Eric at michelle@njgca.org or eric@njgca.org for more information.

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

TRAINING CLASSES!!
All classes held at NJGCA HQ -- 4900 Route 33 West, Wall Township, NJ 07753

Emissions Inspector Training Class - One Day Only!
WEDNESDAY, September 19th, 2018 -- 7 AM to 3 PM
THURSDAY, October 18th, 2018 -- 7 AM to 3 PM
THURSDAY, December 6th, 2048 -- 7 AM to 3 PM

Want one of your technicians to become a NJ Emissions Inspector? We can help! Our one-day class will provide all the information for becoming a NJ Emissions Inspector, and the State will administer the written test the very same day at our offices! We are offering the class: Wednesday, September 19th, Thursday, October 18th, and Thursday, December 6th from 7:00am to 3:00pm.
Cost is $275 for members.
Click HERE for September, HERE for October, and HERE for December registration forms

FULL ETEP Training Classes & Recertification
Sections 1-7
October 8, 10, 15, 24, 29, 31 [TBD],
November 5
Sections 8, 9, 10 (RECERTIFICATION)
November 7, 19, 26
December 3
1 PM to 9 PM

Stop turning away work!!
The New Jersey Inspection Program requires vehicles that fail emissions inspection to go to a Licensed Certified Emission Repair Facility and have a Licensed Emission Repair Technician perform the repairs! When the new Emissions Inspection program begins, a list of Certified Emission Repair Facilities will be given to the vehicle owners who fail the New Jersey Emission Inspection. If you want your business name on the list – make sure you have a Certified Licensed Emission Repair Technician and you are licensed as a Emission Repair Facility!
Full ETEP class fees for members are $2,195 and non-members are &2,395
Recertification fees for members are $729 and non-members are $879.
Click HERE for registration form.

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

FOR SALE:

Business For Sale: Monmouth County gas station and repair shop in business since 2001 is for sale. Owner is relocating out of state and is interested in selling business and equipment. Owner is open to limited financing. Business has a strong 10 year lease. The building has two repair bays and the gas pumps are leased to a large independent tenant. Repair shop business currently employs a Manager and two full-time Technicians. For inquiries and more info, please call Mark at 908-670-7798.

FOR SALE:

Shell Gas Station with 6-Bay Repair Shop for Sale in Bergen County!

Business established in 1980. Fully equipped repair shop with 5 lifts including an alignment rack with a 2-year-old Hunter Hawkeye alignment machine. New Hunter tire machine & wheel balancer. AAA approved and very busy.

Towing business also available which includes 3 Freightliner/JerrDan flatbeds (2015, 2016 & 2017), a 2012 Dodge crew cab wrecker with a Jerrdan Quick Pick & dual cable winch & 2 service trucks (a 2012 GMC 2500 utility truck with a plow & a 2014 Ford transit battery/service vehicle).

Pumping over 1,000,000 gallons per year. 100x300 lot with plenty of parking. Excellent location!!! Call Jim @ 201-851-3084.

NEWS AROUND THE STATE: THE NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

9/12/18
FDA Threatens To Pull Flavored E-cigarettes, Citing ‘Epidemic’ Of Teen Use
The FDA today gave JUUL and four other makers of flavored e-cigarette 60 days to submit plans to curb the use of their products by youths or risk having them pulled from the market. Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said he's reevaluating the agency's decision last summer to delay moves to regulate e-cigarettes until 2022, citing an "epidemic of youth use that I believe is before us." . . . The warning marked one of the most sweeping moves to curb smoking in years and comes as e-cigarettes sales have skyrocketed. Hundreds of varieties of flavored products populate the market, according to a recent CDC report that noted that teen use surged 900 percent from 2011 to 2015. Some states such as California — one of eight that has instituted an e-cigarette tax — have seen use by youths slide in recent years. The agency this summer issued 1,300 warning letters and fines to e-cigarette retailers in its largest coordination enforcement effort yet, officials said today.

9/12/18
1 Big Thing: Energy Stakes Of Hurricane Florence
Even though it's not heading for the Gulf Coast oil belt, Hurricane Florence could create some serious energy disruptions. Infrastructure in the storm's path includes the Colonial and Plantation Pipelines that carry refined products through the Carolinas.The Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal report on how the storm may shake up East Coast gasoline markets. MarketWatch writes: U.S. oil prices remained higher early Wednesday traded as Hurricane Florence barreled toward the East Coast, boosting demand for crude and raising worries about disruptions to gasoline flows and pipelines in the region.

9/11/18
Stricter Chinese Recycling Rules Make It Harder To Dispose Of Waste In NJ
The growing cost of recycling is a problem occurring not only in New Jersey, but across the nation as China, the biggest market for recyclables in the past, has essentially stopped accepting raw materials from foreign recycling businesses. The new policies this spring have disrupted a global market and left some communities with the unhappy prospect of paying to get rid of recyclables instead of selling the waste. It is likely to get worse before it gets better, too, industry experts say. That means residents must adapt to tougher sorting policies when they attempt to dispose of plastics, paper, and other waste, often in the same recycling bin. That practice, dubbed “single-stream recycling,’’ is now being phased out in some cases. Instead, residents are being ordered to separate paper from cardboard, glass from plastic, food waste from other recyclables, and so on.

9/6/18
How C-stores Can Protect Their Tobacco Business
In April, convenience store industry insiders gathering at the 2018 NACS State of the Industry Summit heard 7-Eleven Inc.'s Alan Beach caution them not to turn their backs on cigarettes. That may seem like a no-brainer. However, as the convenience channel moves away from its traditional cokes-and-smokes reputation and toward fresh and healthier offerings, it is easy to overlook the cigarettes category — with its diminishing volumes and tight margins. . .Yes, it is true cigarettes have struggled historically. The category was relatively flat in both average sales per store and total industry sales in 2017, according to the latest Convenience Store News Industry Report. Still, cigarettes ranks No. 1 among in-store merchandise by a long shot, capturing 29.82 percent of all in-store sales in 2017 (down from 30.11 percent the prior year).

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.