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February 7, 2019

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:

• Minimum Wage Increases Signed Off By Governor; NJGCA Stalls Wage Theft Legislation; Magnuson-Moss Progress; Wage and Hour Webinar Recording Now Available

NJGCA CLASSIFIEDS
- Mercer County: Gas Station for Sale
- Monmouth County: Gas Station and Repair Shop Business Since 2001

NEWS AROUND THE STATE

• Minimum Wage Increase Unfair Unless We Get To Pump Our Own Gas
• Murphy Signs Bill To Boost New Jersey’s Minimum Wage To $15
• How a ‘Monster’ Texas Oil Field Made the U.S. a Star in the World Market
• N.J.’s Paid Family Leave Program Is About To Pay Out Much More
• A Climate Problem Even California Can't Fix: Tailpipe Pollution
• While Companies Like Amazon See A Future In Going Cashless, N.J. Lawmakers Pass A Bill To Ban The Practice
• Vaping Really Can Help You Quit Smoking, Study Finds
• Tug-Of-War: U.S. Refiner Citgo Caught In Venezuela Political Upheaval
• Big Thing: Venezuela And The New Oil Landscape

TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE!

??????• EMISSIONS INSPECTOR TRAINING CLASS: THURSDAY, February 28th, March TBD.
??????• ENTIRE EMISSION REPAIR TECHNICIAN PROGRAM: Coming Soon in February/March
??????• RECERTIFICATION EMISSION REPAIR TECHNICIAN PROGRAM: Coming Soon in February/March

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:

MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES SIGNED OFF BY GOVERNOR
NJGCA STALLS WAGE THEFT LEGISLATION
MAGNUSON-MOSS PROGRESS
WAGE AND HOUR WEBINAR RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE

MINIMUM WAGE

I can’t believe I have to deliver this news, but it is now official: Both the Senate and Assembly voted to pass minimum wage increases last Thursday, and the governor signed off on it Monday morning. It is tough to write about, although I know it is not as tough on me as it will be on my members having to write the paychecks. No sense reliving the gory details of this fight for the past three years, so let me just give you exactly what you will need to know. If your business has less than six employees, than the $10 minimum wage that goes into effect on July 1 will not affect you until January 1, 2020, when it will raise to $10.30. See the chart below to determine when you will need to increase your pay rate and by how much:

Date of Increase	New Minimum Wage	New Minimum Wage for Small Business/Seasonal/Farm Employees*
July 1, 2019	$10	No change
January 1, 2020	$11	$10.30
January 1, 2021	$12	$11.10
January 1, 2022	$13	$11.90
January 1, 2023	$14	$12.70
January 1, 2024	$15	$13.50
January 1, 2025	Annual increases based on CPI	$14.30
January 1, 2026	Annual increases based on CPI	$15

*Note: Small business is defined as those businesses with five or fewer employees. Seasonal workers are defined as those that are employed between May 1 to September 30, and who obtain most of their income during a few months of the year.

We know that this will spark a renewed interest in self serve gasoline as a solution to inevitable rising gas prices and other expenses. One of the strongest supporters of self serve is Senator Declan O’Scanlon, who proclaimed that the legislature better start considering permitting self serve gasoline as a result of the new wage increase to the price of gas and the burden it is going to place on your shoulders. We sent an “In Case You Missed It” email yesterday with an op-ed that was published in the Asbury Park Press. Of course, I also sent a press release on Monday that was picked up on several news outlets and triggered a few radio interviews. You can listen to me talk to Steve Trevelise on his show on NJ 101.5 HERE.

This is very important: As you evaluate what you will have to do once the first minimum wage increase rolls around on July 1, it is important for me to know in advance from those of you who plan to reduce the number of employees or the number of shifts that your employees are working in order to cut costs and afford this new minimum wage increase. Remember last week, I highlighted member Stan Kaplan who testified to the Assembly Labor Committee he would be closing his gas pumps and remain only in the auto repair business. If any of you are considering similar actions, please let me know.

WAGE THEFT

Last week, I mentioned our effort to pull the wage theft legislation off of the Senate list of bills to be voted on last Thursday. At the time when I wrote last week’s Road Warrior, I was unsure if I would get this accomplished. However, Senate President Sweeney agreed to pull it and we are now in discussions to amend the legislation so that only truly dishonest employers will be penalized if they cheat their employees. I’ll report any progress as it occurs. I am told that one of the big movers of this bill, Senator Loretta Weinberg is fiercely opposed to NJGCA’s amendments.

MAGNUSON-MOSS

For all of you with repair shops, I do have some good news. We are now making progress on the Magnuson-Moss legislation that we’ve been working on for several years. As I’ve stated in the past, this legislation will require car manufacturers to notify anyone that purchases a new car that they are free to bring their car to your shop for service without voiding their warranty. We learned that this legislation will be heard in the Senate Commerce Committee yesterday, I will be writing about it again next week to let you know of the outcome. I do expect it will pass.

WAGE AND HOUR WEBINAR

For those of you that missed it, you can now access the recording to the wage and hour webinar we held on January 9. As a reminder, you are able to access the archive of all of our previous webinars by hovering over the “resources” tab on the homepage and choosing “webinars.” You must be signed in to the website to access the recording. Thanks again to Alicyn Craig from our MBP McCusker, Anselmi, Rosen & Carvelli (MARC) Law for hosting the webinar. We will be announcing more webinars shortly, so be sure to keep checking our communications emails for those notices.

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!
THURSDAY, February 28th, 2019 -- 7 AM to 3 PM
OR
March TBD -- 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: Monday, January 28th, Thursday, February 28th, and Tuesday, March 26th from 7:00am to 3:00pm. Cost is $275 for members. Click HERE for the February registration form. March date coming soon.

Want to become an emission repair technician/facility?
Entire Emission Technician Education Program (ETEP) Training Classes
Sections 1-7
1 PM to 9 PM
February through March: Exact dates coming soon!

Sections 8, 9, 10 (RECERTIFICATION)
1 PM to 9 PM
February through March: Exact dates coming soon!

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! Those signing up for the FULL training course will attend sections 1-10. 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.

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

NEW!
FOR SALE:
GAS STATION FOR SALE
EWING NEW JERSEY
OWNER RETIRING
CALL: 609-882-1105

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.

NEWS AROUND THE STATE: THE NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

2/6/19
Minimum Wage Increase Unfair Unless We Get To Pump Our Own Gas
You'll be seeing more and more automation where you shop in the form of self ordering kiosks and cashiers. One place you will not see it is the New Jersey gas station, where because of some archaic law, we are still not allowed to pump our own gas. It's not fair. What I am saying and Sal Risalvato, Executive Director of the New Jersey Gasoline, Convenience Store and Automotive Association agrees with, is that you should also be allowed to go to a pump where there is currently an orange cone and pump it yourself. This will allow the business to make as money as possible in the time that they are open. Risalvato says you can also save as much as 10 cents a gallon because the station will not have to pay someone to pump it for you.

2/4/19
Murphy Signs Bill To Boost New Jersey’s Minimum Wage To $15
Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation Monday that will gradually raise New Jersey’s minimum wage to $15 an hour for most workers by 2024, making it the fourth state to approve a policy that not long ago was considered a pipe dream in Democratic circles. It also puts New Jersey on a growing list of blue states — California, Massachusetts and New York, as well as the District of Columbia — that have authorized such a jump in the minimum wage. The new law will boost the state’s hourly pay for most low-wage workers to $15 by Jan. 1, 2024. Murphy estimated that by that year, minimum wage workers in New Jersey will be making, cumulatively, $13,000 more a year than they are making now.

2/3/19
How a ‘Monster’ Texas Oil Field Made the U.S. a Star in the World Market
In a global collapse of oil prices five years ago, scores of American oil companies went bankrupt. But one field withstood the onslaught, and even thrived: the Permian Basin, straddling Texas and New Mexico. A combination of technical innovation, aggressive investing and copious layers of oil-rich shale have transformed the Permian, once considered a worn-out patch, into the world’s second-most-productive oil field. And this transformation has apparently inoculated Texas against its traditional economic enemy, the boom-and-bust cycle pegged to oil prices. Even now, with prices still far below their peak, the Permian is bursting with production and exploration, and the biggest concern is how to create more capacity to get all that oil to market.

2/3/19
N.J.’s Paid Family Leave Program Is About To Pay Out Much More
New Jersey’s paid family leave program may soon soon be expanded big-time, which means you would get paid more for taking time off from your job while caring for a newborn or ill family member. A bill to beef up paid family leave is now Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk after it was passed by both houses of the Democratic-controlled Legislature on Thursday. . . The bill (A3975) would increase the eligibility period from six to 12 weeks and raise the cap on the reimbursement an applicant can receive to 85 percent of their wages — up to $859.

2/1/19
A Climate Problem Even California Can't Fix: Tailpipe Pollution
For three decades, California has led the fight to control tailpipe pollution, with countless policies promoting cleaner gasoline, carpooling, public transportation and its signature strategy - the electric vehicle. Californians now buy more than half of all EVs sold in the United States, and the state’s auto-pollution policies have provided a model being adopted around the world. But they’re not working at home, by the state’s own measure. Tailpipe pollution here is going up, not down, despite billions of dollars spent by one of the most environmentally progressive governments on earth.

1/31/19
While Companies Like Amazon See A Future In Going Cashless, N.J. Lawmakers Pass A Bill To Ban The Practice
New Jersey lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a bill Thursday that would prevent most stores in the Garden State from going cashless. The bill would make New Jersey the second state to require retailers to accept cash and the first since 1978, when Massachusetts passed a law banning cashless stores. The legislation would apply to brick-and-mortar retailers, excluding transactions made online, by telephone, or by mail. The state senate passed the bill 39-0 and the Assembly later approved the measure by a vote of 71-2. It will now go to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who can sign or veto the legislation. “We are reviewing the legislation," Murphy spokesman Dan Bryan said.

1/31/19
Vaping Really Can Help You Quit Smoking, Study Finds
A major new study provides the strongest evidence yet that vaping can help smokers quit cigarettes, with e-cigarettes proving nearly twice as effective as nicotine gums and patches. The British research, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, could influence what doctors tell their patients and shape the debate in the US, where the Food and Drug Administration has come under pressure to more tightly regulate the burgeoning industry amid a surge in teenage vaping.

1/31/19
Tug-Of-War: U.S. Refiner Citgo Caught In Venezuela Political Upheaval
Citgo Petroleum Corp, the eighth largest U.S. refiner and Venezuela’s top foreign asset, is in the middle of a tug-of-war as the Trump administration tries to use the company as leverage to topple Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Following the U.S. decision to impose sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry this week, both sides have engaged in aggressive moves for control of Citgo, which has roots in the United States dating back 100 years, but has been owned by Venezuela’s state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela, or PVDSA, for three decades.

1/31/19
1 Big Thing: Venezuela And The New Oil Landscape
Prices are up in recent days (Brent is pushing $62 per barrel and WTI is above $54), but they're still more than $20 below the elevated early-October levels, which were 4-year highs. It's a sign of an oil market that has been transformed by the rise of U.S. shale production and other forces.

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.