December 20, 2018

Dear NJGCA Member:

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

Here is what you will find in this edition:

SENATOR VIN GOPAL VISITS NJGCA HQ
FLOOR STOCKS TAX DUE
NJ TAX AMNESTY REMINDER
WAGE AND HOUR WEBINAR
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM NJGCA

A few weeks ago, we arranged for Senator Vin Gopal (11^th District, Monmouth County) to come to the office, meet some of our members, and discuss some of the legislative issues our industry is facing. He is one of the more responsive members of the Senate on the issue of $15 minimum wage. Although he is only one vote in the Senate, he has been working hard to get as many compromises as he can that may soften the blow for small business owners in any eventual legislation that increases the minimum wage. In fact, he has sponsored his own legislation that includes many of the compromises we have asked for; including exempting those with 25 or fewer employees (up from 10), businesses that have only been in operation less than two years, training wages, those in the agricultural industry, and taking health benefits into consideration when calculating an employee’s wages. This is certainly going to be an issue once again on the front burner in Trenton in 2019.

One more reminder, that the floor stocks tax is due on any vapor liquid that you had in inventory at midnight on September 29th.To access the tax forms and for more information, click HERE. This form and the amount of tax due must be paid by midnight on December 20th.

Keeping with tax reminders, the New Jersey’s tax amnesty program is set to end on January 15, 2019. If you do not take advantage of this, any and all taxes, penalties, and lone shark interests will be due shortly after, and an additional 5% unwaivable penalty on any eligible amount not resolved will be added to the final amount due. If any of you are in this situation and would like to discuss it, feel free to call me and we can speak privately. DO NOT IGNORE THIS OPPORTUNITY. Find more information HERE.

I want to remind you all again of our next upcoming NJGCA webinar on Wage and Hour hosted by Alicyn Craig at our MBP McCusker, Anselmi, Rosen & Carvelli (MARC) Law on January 9 from 2 to 3 PM. You can register for that webinar now HERE.

Finally, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. No matter what religion you are, this is the time of year the country stops to both celebrate and appreciate. Please enjoy your families and friends. Everyone here at NJGCA wishes you all the peace, joy and blessings of the season.

That's all for this week-

Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

NEWS AROUND THE STATE: THE NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

12/19/18
‘Everything On Table’ For Next Year’s Budget, Murphy Says
Tax hikes are possible when the state’s top Democrats sit down for budget talks beginning in March. Gov. Phil Murphy, at a press conference Wednesday at the Saint James A.M.E. Church in Newark, said “everything is on the table” in response to questions about whether he would consider tax increases for the 2020 budget, which goes into effect July 1. The Legislature’s two top Democrats, Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-3rd District, and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-19th District, have repeatedly opposed additional tax increases in next year’s budget. The current budget includes a $1.5 billion revenue increase through a combination of tax hikes and one-time cash infusions.

12/19/18
Altria Nears Deal for a $12.8 Billion Stake in Juul
Juul Labs Inc., the company behind the wildly popular e-cigarette is nearing a deal to sell about a third of itself to tobacco giant Altria Group Inc., people familiar with the negotiations said. . .Altria, which is focused on the U.S. market after spinning off Philip Morris International Inc. in 2008, is set to invest about $12.8 billion in Juul, valuing the e-cigarette maker at roughly $38 billion, the people said. The deal is expected to close before the end of this week, they said. An agreement hasn’t been reached and talks could still end without one, the people said.

12/18/18
Keeping The Cash In Commerce: NJ Ponders Ban On ‘Cashless Stores’
Low-income residents and senior citizens are the most likely to be unable or unwilling to charge purchases. But with more shoppers choosing cards over cash, some retailers are beginning to go cashless. Monday, a bill that would force stores to keep accepting money inched closer to the governor’s desk, as Senate action positioned the measure for final passage early in the new year. What’s behind this push to go cash-free? Many businesses are finding it more efficient and faster to process card payments. They also say it is safer, reducing the risk of robbery since there is no money for thieves to grab. But business opposition is not uniform. Some small businesses — delis, in particular — frown on customers using anything but cash for small purchases because the business typically has to pay a processing fee of about 2 percent on all card transactions.

12/17/18
Lowest December Gas Prices Since 2016
On Dec. 17, the national gas price average hit $2.37, offering drivers the least expensive pump prices since December 2016. This time a year ago the national average price of gas was $2.43. Gas prices are also five cents less than last week and 26-cents less than last month.

12/16/18
New Jersey Ranks 34th In Anti-tobacco Efforts, Up 14 Places From 2017, Report Says
A recent report ranks New Jersey in the bottom third of states when it comes to funding programs to prevent tobacco use. The report released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and other groups, including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, found the state is set to spend just $7.2 million of the $103.3 million recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on tobacco prevention and cessation programs this fiscal year. In a nationwide comparison, the report ranked New Jersey 34th in its anti-tobacco effort under first-year Governor Phil Murphy. In the 2018 fiscal year, the state spent just $500,000 on tobacco prevention programs and was ranked 48th by the report.

12/13/18
The Oil Industry’s Covert Campaign to Rewrite American Car Emissions Rules
In Congress, on Facebook and in statehouses nationwide, Marathon Petroleum, the country’s largest refiner, worked with powerful oil-industry groups and a conservative policy network financed by the billionaire industrialist Charles G. Koch to run a stealth campaign to roll back car emissions standards, a New York Times investigation has found. The campaign’s main argument for significantly easing fuel efficiency standards — that the United States is so awash in oil it no longer needs to worry about energy conservation — clashed with decades of federal energy and environmental policy.

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.