If you cannot see the message, please click here

September 20, 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:

• Promoting Workforce Development in Repair Shops; Is Cashless Payment Coming to New Jersey?; Gas Tax Update; Repair Shops -- Ban on Asbestos Products; New Tax on E-Cigs and Vape Products Next Week; Young Professionals Meeting

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
• Trying To Spur EV In NJ With Wave Of Fast-Charging Stations, Rebates
• Amazon, Walmart Delay New Jersey Bill That Would Ban Cashless Stores
• As Gas Consumption Sags In NJ, State Tax On It Set To Rise Next Month
• Hurricane May Drive Higher Freight Costs
• Jersey Shore Town Oks A New Convenience Mart, And It's Not A 7-11, Wawa Or Quick Chek

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

JOIN NJGCA ON FACEBOOK -- CLICK HERE
TO SEE OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL -- CLICK HERE
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER-- CLICK HERE

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE:

PROMOTING WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN REPAIR SHOPS
IS CASHLESS PAYMENT COMING TO NEW JERSEY?
GAS TAX UPDATE
REPAIR SHOPS -- BAN ON ASBESTOS PRODUCTS
NEW TAX ON E-CIGS AND VAPE PRODUCTS NEXT WEEK
YOUNG PROFESSIONALS MEETING

Because we hear from so many of you how difficult it is to find qualified technicians, we have been exploring several avenues to help ease your troubles. Eric has attended a number of workforce development forums, and he and I together attended one yesterday that included the commissioner from the DOL and his workforce development staff. Also speaking at this forum were the commissioners of education and higher education. All three of these departments are dealing with the lack of training and apprentice programs for young people to become qualified in all aspects of the workforce. There was a clear recognition that auto technicians are both extremely important and hard to find. We will be meeting in the near future with various vocational and technical schools and working with Trenton to promote workforce development programs that focus on the automotive industry. In fact, there is an initiative on the ballot in November that we will urge you to ask your friends, family, and employees to support. The initiative will provide $500 million to mostly expand vocational and technical schools. In 2017, 17,000 students applied to these programs and were turned away due to lack of capacity. This funding is badly needed and your support is greatly appreciated.

Previously, NJGCA has tried to focus on future disruptions to our industry. One example that we have used has been the upcoming trend of frictionless payments. Amazon has already put in place a number of sites where customers can walk in, fill their shopping carts, and simply walk out of the store. Sensors will determine what customers have purchased and charge their credit card before they turn the ignition key of their vehicles. However, there is an effort in Trenton to block these stores, highlighting the fact that a certain segments of the population do not have bank accounts or credit cards, and are only able to use cash. Proposed legislation would prohibit any merchant from refusing cash. There are pros and cons to each of you on this issue and we will be speaking more about it in the coming months. The legislation, A-591, is now being strongly opposed by both Amazon and Walmart, who obviously expect to have totally frictionless payments at their stores in the future. This will become a reality in your convenience stores sooner than you think! Read more about this HERE.

I continue to speak out to the media regarding our frustration and anger that our Governor has chosen to increase the gas tax by 4.3 cents, rather than adopt the plan that NJGCA submitted that would only raise the tax by one penny. We continue to object as this diminishes our competitive edge with our neighboring states, particularly New York. I was recently quoted again on this in an article from NJ Spotlight. You can read this HERE.

Here’s an example of how we must remain on our toes to guard against bad public policy. In this instance, Trenton surprised us last Thursday, but thankfully, after consulting with a number of you, we have learned it is no big deal and the proposal is actually needless and is what I refer to as “feel good legislation.” Here’s what I’m talking about: Last Thursday, at the end of the day, I received an alert that the Assembly Environment Committee would be hearing legislation and voting on a bill that would ban any products that contain asbestos. My point about how dumb Trenton is sometimes is highlighted by the fact that although the bill was scheduled for a hearing, it had not even been assigned a bill number, and there was no text in the proposed legislation for myself or the other legislators that would be asked to vote on this bill to read to know what was being proposed! This is outright stupid! Eric had to monitor this all weekend, and we sent him to Trenton just in case something that could be harmful to our members did in fact pass. As it turns out, we had learned from many of you that the products you use no longer contain any asbestos. If that’s the case, then why is there a need to pass this legislation? The text of the legislation did become available just before the committee hearing on Monday. Of course, no one even had 30 seconds to read it to know what they were voting for….. AND IT STILL PASSED!! We are of course, trying to get the legislation amended to make sure that there is no penalty to you if somehow you unknowingly purchase a product that a manufacturer may have slipped in some asbestos in their manufacturing process. This is a real possibility, since the materials that have replaced asbestos are significantly more costly and one must guard against a supplier exchanging these products that could leave you open to a big legal liability. Manufacturers are known to do that. We will keep you posted.

This is a reminder that the new tax on e-cigarette and vaping products goes into effect on September 29th. The tax will be 10 cents per milliliter on nicotine-containing liquid. Yes, you will need to inventory your products at midnight of September 28th as you will be expected to pay the additional tax on what you already have in inventory. Do not forget to raise the price of these products to include the additional tax. All products that you buy from your distributor after the 29th will have the tax included. The Floor Stocks Tax Return and tax payment are due by October 20th. We are monitoring legislation that was introduced that would change this tax to a 3.5% tax, charged and collected at retail. Currently the new tax that goes into effect on September 29 is significantly more burdensome to vape shops that sell a different product than you do in your convenience stores. The vape shops are seeking relief by changing the tax to the 3.5% I just mentioned. After consulting with several of you, we have let the sponsors of this legislation know we are opposed to this as this would create a greater burden to the small business owners of convenience stores. We are closely monitoring this. To access the floor stock tax forms that need to be filed by October 20^th and more information, click HERE.

We had a very successful Young Professional’s meeting on Monday night at Red Rock in Red Bank. We were thrilled to see emerging leaders on both the MBP and small business sides getting excited about their futures and learning from each other. I cannot stress enough how important these events are to our younger generations who intend to carry the batons of our business into the next generation. The opportunity to meet others in the industry and make these connections is invaluable, and we heard as much from those who attended on Monday night. If you are interested in joining our Young Professionals mailing list, or want to be among the first to know about upcoming events, please contact either Michelle or Eric at our offices at michelle@njgca.org or eric@njgca.org, or call our headquarters at 732-256-9646.

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

9/19/18
Trying To Spur EV In NJ With Wave Of Fast-Charging Stations, Rebates
A legislative push to kick-start the state’s lagging efforts to promote the use of electric vehicles calls for the development of hundreds of fast-charging stations across New Jersey and rebates to those who buy zero-emission cars. The legislation, expected to come up for consideration in October, stems from months of negotiations among clean-energy advocates, lawmakers and the Murphy administration. A draft bill essentially merges features of several proposals that came before the Senate Environment and Energy Committee in May. The proposal is viewed as a way to accelerate what many see as a top policy imperative — electrifying the transportation sector, the state’s biggest source of greenhouse-gas emissions contributing to climate change. The draft bill mostly focuses on light-duty vehicles, but also includes provision for a pilot program to spur electric utilities to put electric school buses into service as well as a long-range plan to electrify the entire fleet of school buses.

9/17/18
Amazon, Walmart Delay New Jersey Bill That Would Ban Cashless Stores
New Jersey lawmakers shelved a vote on advancing a bill Thursday that would prohibit retailers from refusing to accept cash. The measure was tabled before a Senate Commerce committee hearing after the retail giants and other stakeholders expressed concerns with the bill, said State Sen. Nellie Pou (D., Passaic), who chairs the committee and is sponsoring the legislation. As technology gives consumers more ways to pay, including with their smartphones, some businesses have gone cashless to improve efficiency and reduce the risk of robbery, among other reasons. But consumer advocates say cashless businesses effectively discriminate against poor customers who don't have access to credit or bank accounts, and seniors who aren't comfortable paying with plastic or digital devices. The bill would make New Jersey the second state to ban cashless businesses and the first since 1978, when Massachusetts passed a law requiring merchants to accept cash. The New Jersey Assembly overwhelmingly approved the bill in June by a 71 to 4 vote. The legislation won't come back before the Senate Commerce committee until December, Pou said.

9/17/18
As Gas Consumption Sags In NJ, State Tax On It Set To Rise Next Month
New Jersey’s gas tax will soon go up by nearly a nickel thanks to a relatively new state law that now links the tax rate to annual consumption, which has been sagging. The pending increase, which will push the per-gallon rate to 41.4 cents starting October 1, comes just a few years after the tax was hiked by more than 20 cents to rescue the state’s then-broke Transportation Trust Fund. And making matters worse for motorists is the potential for future increases that would be triggered automatically unless recent consumption trends are reversed, or lawmakers rewrite the gas-tax law. Part of the blame for the increase falls on the popularity of more fuel-efficient vehicles that let motorists drive more miles before they must fill up. But hikes in the tax are also eroding what used to be New Jersey’s wide competitive advantage over other states in the region, something that helped to drive up gas consumption in the state, and in turn, revenue from the gas tax. “We’ve created a spiraling effect,” said Sal Risalvato, executive director of the New Jersey Gasoline and Convenience Store Association.

9/17/18
Hurricane May Drive Higher Freight Costs
The impact of Hurricane Florence on the mid-Atlantic region could force freight costs to rise again, which could be a problem for several food companies, according to a report published in Food Business News. Pending natural disasters tend to provide a net positive to processed food companies because consumers stock up on necessities, according to a report from Credit Suisse; however, distribution costs tend to jump as food processors scramble to get truck drivers to show up at their facilities.

9/17/18
Jersey Shore Town Oks A New Convenience Mart, And It's Not A 7-11, Wawa Or Quick Chek
Motorists in Brick would be able to eat a fried chicken, egg and cheese bagel sandwich and get gas at the same time, under a plan for a new Royal Farms convenience store and canopied gas station approved this week. The Maryland-based convenience chain, which touts its "world famous fried chicken" along with the price of a gallon of gas, is expanding into New Jersey, with a total of six stores so far, including one approved Wednesday by the Brick Township Board of Adjustment, said Tara Paxton, the township's assistant planner. Royal Farms, which has close to 200 stores mostly in Maryland and Delaware, was granted approval for a store and canopied gas pumps at the intersection of state Routes 70 and 88 and Olden Road, Paxton said.

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.