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March 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:

• NJGCA Class C Program For Your Convenience; USDOL Wage & Hour Crackdown; NJGCA Hiring & Firing Webinars; Grant Money for Apprentice Programs; New Jersey Liquor License Laws; NJGCA Young Professionals Networking Event

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

NEWS AROUND THE STATE

• Plastic Bag Ban Is Good For The Planet But Bad For Low Income Families, Some Argue
• Op-ed: Applauding NJ Lawmakers For Reviewing Outdated Liquor Laws
• FDA Presents Flavored E-Cig Ban to White House
• Deadly Wayne Crash Shows How Combination Of Old Roads, Gas Stations 'could Ignite A Bomb'
• Murphy Wants To Penalize N.J. Businesses That Don’t Offer Employees Health Care
• The Pressure Is On To Allow Undocumented Immigrants To Get Nj Driver's Licenses
• New Bill Would Make Manufacturers, Retailers Liable for Plastic Waste
• Fix My Gadgets!
• Phil Murphy Declares State Of Emergency For All Of New Jersey Ahead Of Sunday Snowstorm
• Sweeney Ready To Move Forward With Pension, Health Benefits Overhaul
• More Than 800 New Electric Vehicle Charging Outlets Coming To New Jersey

TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE!

??????• EMISSIONS INSPECTOR TRAINING CLASS: April date TBD; June date TBD
??????• ENTIRE EMISSION REPAIR TECHNICIAN PROGRAM: Coming soon, call office for more information
??????• RECERTIFICATION EMISSION REPAIR TECHNICIAN PROGRAM: Coming soon, call office for more information

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:

NJGCA CLASS C PROGRAM FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE
USDOL WAGE AND HOUR CRACKDOWN
NJGCA HIRING AND FIRING WEBINARS
GRANT MONEY FOR APPRENTICE PROGRAMS
NEW JERSEY LIQUOR LICENSE LAWS
NJGCA YOUNG PROFESSIONALS EVENT

CLASS C

I am very excited to announce, after months of our members asking for this and putting it together, that our UST Class C Training program is now live on our website. After listening to our members for over a year ask for an efficient training program for their employees, we have created this easy, convenient, thorough, and inexpensive program for A/B Operators to use to train their potential Class C Operators in order to avoid costly DEP violations and penalties.

Who is considered a Class C Operator? Anyone and everyone working at your location! This program is not only designed to teach the basics of Underground Storage Tanks, but also what to do in the event of an emergency, safety precautions around hazardous substances, what to do if there is a spill, understanding alarms, and more!

We made this as easy as possible for both you and the trainee: we provide all of the proof of training documents you need in order to be in compliance with DEP, send you a certificate of completion after passing our training, and archive all records!

Be sure to follow directions closely. You will need to register your location first and purchase the test for each employee you wish to certify, then make sure to pass the relevant information on to your employees to take the training and test.

Click HERE to access the registration site and get your location in compliance today!

USDOL WAGE AND HOUR & NJGCA WEBINARS

In the past, I have made it a policy to notify you every time there is action by the Department of Labor when they penalize businesses in our industry because of their crackdown on employers who improperly pay their employees. I take these actions very seriously because I know many of you are honest and do not cheat your employees, and yet may still have payroll practices that will run afoul of the law. There are others who actually are purposely and knowingly skirting the laws by cheating their employees. When you cheat your employees—you also cheat my honest members. Since 2011, NJGCA has had numerous presentations and seminars by the Department of Labor so that our members can be educated on how to properly pay their employees. Thankfully, this effort has resulted in many of you contacting me to say that DOL audits have resulted in no infractions or penalties. With the exception of one very disappointing case a year ago, none of the locations that DOL has cited are NJGCA members. Some were previous members, and as a result, never had the benefit of our warnings and education. Last week, I received the most recent notification by the US DOL of serious findings at a number of locations all owned by the same person. I guess if you cheat in one, you cheat in all. The results of this latest investigation cost this business owner $650,000. It is instances like these that have prompted us here to host webinars that will help you understand the complicated laws that you must navigate, such as hiring, firing, and paying your employees. In recent months we held two webinars that you can access in the member’s only section of our website HERE, and you should have received an invitation to participate in two very informative upcoming webinars. Part 1 on Hiring Best Practices will be held on March 20th from 2-3 PM and hosted by Alicyn Craig of McCusker, Anselmi, Rosen & Carvelli (MARC) Law. Part 2 on Firing Best Practices & Difficult Employees will be held on April 3rd from 2-3 PM and hosted by Steven Horowitz of the Horowitz Law Group. You can register for both these webinars (and I suggest you register for both) by clicking on each link. We are making these resources available to you to prevent you from facing these fines and potential lawsuits, please take advantage of these tools we provide to help you avoid these very costly violations. I do not want to read about any of my members getting caught with these infractions. I am still very upset over the one member from last year who failed to heed our warnings.

APPRENTICE PROGRAMS

In the past few weeks I have made mention a few times about our efforts to assist repair shops in finally finding qualified technicians or training potentially qualified technicians in an apprentice program. On Tuesday, Governor Murphy gave his annual budget address to the legislature, outlining what he plans to spend money on in the upcoming fiscal year. I was pleased that he made mention of making more grant money available for apprentice programs. The survey that we sent out last week is designed to help us put together a proposal to the New Jersey Department of Labor so that we can obtain grant money for those of you interested in hiring and training apprentices in an approved program. If you have not taken the survey, please stop what you are doing and CLICK HERE to take it now.

LIQUOR LICENSES

I know many of you are interested in being able to sell beer and wine in your convenience stores. This is a subject that we have touched upon with legislators over the past few years and have found a reluctance on their part to take any action that would change the liquor licensing laws in New Jersey that would enable you to do so. Late last year, NJGCA had a very serious meeting with Assemblyman Danielsen, who chairs the Oversight, Reform, and Federal Relations Committee, which is the committee that this type of legislation will have to pass through. He expressed an understanding of New Jersey’s archaic liquor licensing laws and the willingness to make changes. We met again in January, and he informed me that he was trying to persuade the leadership in the Assembly to permit him to hold hearings on the subject. Last week, Assemblyman Danielsen notified me that a hearing is scheduled for today, March 7th, to gather information and the thoughts of stakeholders on this subject. I will be testifying at this hearing and have asked several of you to accompany me. Since I am writing this prior to the hearing, I will report back to you next week.

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS

Finally, for those of you who have young professionals working for your business or know of young professionals looking to network, our young professionals group will be hosting another event in Saddle Brook at the Plank Pizza Co. on March 21st at 6 PM. More details to follow soon. Please email Michelle at michelle@njgca.org if you or someone you know of may be interested in attending, or you are interested in sponsoring the event.

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!
April & June date 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! Classes run from 7:00am to 3:00pm. Cost is $275 for members. 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
Exact dates coming soon!

Sections 8, 9, 10 (RECERTIFICATION)
1 PM to 9 PM
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

3/6/19
Plastic Bag Ban Is Good For The Planet But Bad For Low Income Families, Some Argue
Senior citizens, age 65 and older, would be exempt from the fee with proof of age. Customers receiving federal assistance wouldn’t have to pay, either, but they would have to verify their status. But Rodriguez and Extra co-owner Albert Mendez said that stipulation singles out seniors and their customers, many of whom are low income and receive federal aid. Both men said having to ask a customer about their benefits gives away their right to privacy.

3/6/19
Op-ed: Applauding NJ Lawmakers For Reviewing Outdated Liquor Laws
On Thursday, an Assembly committee will be meeting in Trenton to hold hearings on the economic and legal impact of the state’s antiquated liquor licensing laws. On the surface, this would appear to be just another rote function of the Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee. But, for those within the liquor industry, this is the first substantial step of our state Legislature in recent memory to modernize the state’s liquor laws. A key discussion point of this committee must be the “two-license limit” that has prohibited certain businesses, including many supermarkets, from owning more than two liquor licenses in New Jersey. While these businesses have been unable to expand operations in New Jersey over the past 50 years, other groups have used a legal workaround to create large liquor store chains in the state.

3/5/19
FDA Presents Flavored E-Cig Ban to White House
According to Axios sources, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb handed White House officials a plan to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes in c-stores. Gottlieb has described the surge in teen vaping as an “epidemic” and an important public health crisis. The agency's plan would limit the sale of flavored e-cigarettes (other than mint/menthol and tobacco flavors) to adult only stores or stores with an adult-only section, essentially banning the sale of these products in most convenience stores. The agency would still allow these products to still be sold in vape stores (or other adult-only stores) and the Internet.

3/5/19
Deadly Wayne Crash Shows How Combination Of Old Roads, Gas Stations 'could Ignite A Bomb'
It’s a danger baked into the landscape of New Jersey. Gas stations, many built before World War II, crowd the shoulders of state highways. Those highways are relics of another time, built before urban planners learned how much room cars and trucks need to accelerate, turn, and stop. . . But the risk at gas stations is higher, said Greenberg and Sal Risalvato, executive director of New Jersey Gasoline and C-Store Association, the trade group for gas station owners. The reason is self-evident: McDonald's servers usually don't stand outside in the parking lot all day. New Jersey gas station attendants do. “It was routine to hear screeching tires, and you always cringed,” said Risalvato, who experienced the danger firsthand pumping gas at an Exxon station on Route 17 in Paramus in the 1970's and ’80s. “I always thought, ‘What happens if any of those cars come careening off the road? We’re toast.’”

3/4/19
Murphy Wants To Penalize N.J. Businesses That Don’t Offer Employees Health Care
New Jersey businesses that don’t provide health insurance and whose employees are therefore enrolled in Medicaid would face new penalties under the state budget proposal Gov. Phil Murphy will unveil Tuesday, NJ Advance Media has learned. The Democratic governor will announce the new per-person fee as part of his budget plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1. . . Firms that don’t offer health insurance coverage and 50 or more of their employees are enrolled in Medicaid would be charged $150-a-head annually if their employees instead tap public benefits, sources said.

3/4/19
The Pressure Is On To Allow Undocumented Immigrants To Get NJ Driver's Licenses
Immigrants and their advocates are continuing to pressure lawmakers for a vote on a measure that would allow undocumented immigrants and others without paperwork to access to driver’s licenses. Democratic lawmakers introduced bills to do that in November, but since then have taken no action. Advocates meanwhile have rallied throughout the state to lobby legislators, including a demonstration last week where immigrants and others delivered more than 15,000 signed petitions to Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin's office in Woodbridge, Middlesex County.

3/4/19
New Bill Would Make Manufacturers, Retailers Liable for Plastic Waste
Lawmakers in the state of Washington are considering bills that would prohibit procucers that don’t participate in a plastic packaging stewardship organization from producing or selling items with plastic packaging in the state, according to The Daily Intake, which reports on the food and dietary supplement industries. House Bill 1204 and Senate Bill 5397 would include items packaged wholly or in part in plastic and go into effect in 2020. The new law would apply to the owner of any brand to which plastic packaging is applied, anyone selling retail products in plastic packaging, and producers of plastic foodservice products, including utensils and other specified plastic items associated with food or beverage service that are included in the definition of plastic packaging.

3/4/19
Fix My Gadgets!
Listen to this report from the BBC on demanding a right to repair.

3/3/19
Phil Murphy Declares State Of Emergency For All Of New Jersey Ahead Of Sunday Snowstorm
Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency beginning at 3 p.m. Sunday, hours before a storm was to hit New Jersey with potentially the biggest snowfall of the year. Forecasts call for the entire state to be affected by the storm, with the northern half receiving 4 to 8 inches of snow and the southern half a dusting to 4 inches. Snowfall will be heaviest between 9 p.m. Sunday and 4 a.m. Monday.

3/1/19
Sweeney Ready To Move Forward With Pension, Health Benefits Overhaul
Senate President Steve Sweeney is moving forward with major proposals to slash the state’s costs for pensions and health benefits, an effort that‘s already triggered a fight with public sector unions and will likely add more tension to this year’s budget negotiations with Gov. Phil Murphy. Sweeney has spent the past few months traveling the state, pitching proposals from his “Path to Progress” report to local officials and editorial boards and at town halls. Written by a 25-member panel of economic and fiscal policy experts, the report, released in August, includes dozens of recommendations for how to curb the cost of government in New Jersey, an issue Sweeney has championed for years.

2/28/19
More Than 800 New Electric Vehicle Charging Outlets Coming To New Jersey
New Jersey will spend $3.2 million to build 827 electric vehicle charging outlets across the state, more than doubling the number of places motorists can go to recharge their cars, officials announced Thursday. The state will also spend $8 million to buy eight electric NJ Transit buses for the city of Camden, officials at the state Department of Environmental Protection said. The money comes from New Jersey's share of the federal government's multi-billion-dollar settlement with Volkswagen after the German car manufacturer had installed "defeat devices" in diesel-fueled cars to falsify how much harmful emissions they were emitting.

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.