June 1, 2012

Dear NJGCA Member:

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

Here's what you'll find in this edition:

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE: GREETINGS & SAL-UTATIONS!
•Getty bankruptcy fallout, Gift card law repealed, Budget matters, and Voting in Tuesday’s Primary

NEWS AROUND THE STATE
•'Bath salts': Officials say the synthetic drug in disguise was behind recent ‘cannibal’ attack  
•Amazon.com to begin collecting sales tax on N.J. orders next year
•Shell Tackles Gasoline Pump Fraud
•Assembly Votes Down DEP Waiver Rule

APPRAISAL SERVICES
•Regency Property Appraisers: Serving all your appraisal needs in NJ, NY, and beyond!

TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE
•Interested taking a class?  Call us today!

MEET THE FOLKS AT LIBERTY GAS
•Looking for a new brand for your station? Take a look at the opportunity below!

MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE
•TMP Energy Solutions: Another Way to Save On Your Energy Bills!

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM BELLOMO FUELS
•Serving New Jersey since 1910 -- Over 100 years of supplying gasoline retailers like YOU!

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

THE MEMBER TOOL BOX
•On the NJGCA Homepage

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE: GREETINGS & SAL-UTATIONS!

GETTY BANKRUPTCY FALLOUT,

GIFT CARD LAW REPEALED,

BUDGET MATTERS, AND

VOTING IN TUESDAY'S PRIMARY!

A short workweek this week means a short Road Warrior; although every week I find myself saying that when I sit down to write it only to wind up with three pages of commentary.  This week though, it’s actually true. 

This week every Getty location should have received a letter from me.  NJGCA will be hosting a meeting here at our headquarters on Wednesday June 13th at 10am.  Our address is 66 Morris Avenue, Springfield.  The recent bankruptcy filing from Getty PMI is creating serious fallout for those who operate Getty stations throughout New Jersey.  I will have an attorney present who is familiar with the Getty bankruptcy to try and help you with any problems you may have.  If you would like to attend, please RSVP by either emailing Greg@njgca.org or calling the main office at 973-376-0066. 

On Thursday the New Jersey state Senate passed S-1928, the bill which would largely repeal the disruptive change to the state’s gift card law that was passed two years ago.  As I mentioned last week when this bill passed committee, the current law has been deemed too onerous by most of the major gift card companies, and they have promised to stop selling their gift cards at the end of June if the Legislature does not pass this bill.  Many c-stores and supermarkets have gift card stands near the register for all manner or products.  How they voted. Following its passage, the bill must now be moved through the General Assembly.  The Legislature breaks for summer at the end of June so lawmakers will push to have it passed by then and sent to the Governor.  The Governor supported the original changes to the gift card so it seems unlikely that he will sign into law the bill to revert it back.   

The Legislature has and will continue to be totally focused on issues relating to the budget right up until they adjourn at the end of June.  There is currently a lot of eye poking going on between the Governor, the Democratic Senate President, and Democratic members of the Assembly over who has the best tax cut plan.  I don’t think I have to tell you what a historic time we live in where the main disagreement among the Trenton politicians is what the best way is to CUT your taxes. 

This Tuesday, June 5th, is Primary Election Day in New Jersey.  If you are a registered member of either the Republican or Democratic Party you can and should go to the polls and cast a ballot for who your Party’s candidates should be this November.  On the ballot will be the nominees for President, Senate, Congress, a few state Assembly seats, county, and local offices.  You can get a better handle on the candidates in each primary by checking out NJ Spotlight’s Voter Guide.   NJGCA will publish our own voter guide in the October issue of OTR just before you vote in November. The most watched races are in the new District 9, which encompasses Eastern Passaic County and Southern Bergen County.  Because of redistricting, Bergen County Congressman Steve Rothman and Passaic County Congressman Bill Pascrell are facing off for the right to represent the area in Congress going forward.  This is expected to be a very closely fought race, so if you’re a registered Democrat and live in the District make sure you vote, it will matter!  The other big race is in the 10th District, consisting of eastern Essex County and parts of Hudson and Union Counties.  Following the death of longtime Representative Donald Payne, this seat is open and the winner of the Democratic primary will likely represent the area for years to come.  The main contestants are the former Congressman’s son Donald Payne, Jr., as well as state Senator Nia Gill and Newark Councilman Ron Rice. 

It was over a year ago when I first alerted you all by Wildfire Alert that the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office had decided to add so-called ‘bath salts’ to the list of banned substances.  They were little packets of chemicals that were being sold at many gas stations and convenience stores and were being used by people to get a cheap high.  A few retailers either ignored my warnings or don’t receive my emails and continued to sell the innocuous sounding product.  Several of them were eventually arrested as drug dealers and had their picture in the newspaper being taken out of their business in handcuffs.  If you originally thought that the government was overreacting to the situation, then a recent news story ought to change your mind.  Last Saturday a man was caught in Miami completely naked and literally eating the face of another also naked homeless man.  When confronted by police, he actually growled like an animal and continued chewing.  Ultimately, he was shot by the police and the homeless man remains in critical condition, having had almost 80% of his face ripped off by another man’s teeth.  What is the suspected cause of this gruesome attack?  He was high on Bath Salts.  This is why authorities are taking it so seriously and why I’ve been reminding you to take this off your shelves if you still have it.  If you’re caught there’s no way for me to help you and after this incident you can bet the authorities will want to make an example of anyone they find selling this product. 

Once again I’d like to remind you to register for the New Jersey Clean Cities Annual Stakeholder meeting to be held on June 12th. I will certainly be there; you may find a lot of this interesting and get the opportunity to meet good people who will be happy to help you modernize your business for the alternate energy era.  You can RSVP by CLICKING HERE.  I also encourage you to register for the natural gas workshop NJGCA is cosponsoring on July 12th.  You can get more details on the event by CLICKING HERE. You can register for the event by CLICKING HERE. 

For the Policy Patrol this week is a bill which bears attention from those of you who sell cigarettes.  A-2906 from Assemblyman Ruben Ramos (D-Hudson) increases certain filing fees, penalties and enhances enforcement provisions and procedures for violations of cigarette tax and unfair cigarette sales laws committed by cigarette license holders.  There are many provisions to the relatively lengthy bill.  First off, it would increase the retail dealer’s annual license fees from $50 to $200.  In addition to the retail license fee, there would be a license continuation surcharge of $1,000 if the retail dealer license has been subject to one suspension or renewal and $3,000 if the retail dealer license has been subject to two suspensions or renewals.  There would be a license suspension for 30 days for a second offense of selling tobacco to someone under the age of 19 or for selling packs containing less than 20 cigarettes.  The bill would also mandate a term of imprisonment for second instances of tax stamp violations.  Finally, the vendor would lose the ability to sell lottery tickets if they were convicted of forging cigarette tax stamps or of possessing unstamped cigarettes.  NJGCA will closely monitor this proposed piece of legislation and work with its proponents to ensure it doesn’t harm those of you doing legitimate business. 

In the Manure Pile is Assembly Resolution 70.  If you use the Internet much you’ve probably come across CAPTCHA tests, those little boxes which randomly generate pictures of a series of random letters and numbers to make sure you’re not a robot.  This resolution calls on the United States Congress, a body which once debated great issues like slavery, world war, and fundamental civil rights, to create a law that requires the makers of the CAPTCHA software to prevent their software from randomly generating profanities and other inappropriate words.  Bills like this make me think of quite a few ‘inappropriate’ words they could include….

Thanks for listening – See you next week. 

Regards,
Sal Risalvato
Executive Director 

NEWS AROUND THE STATE

5/30/2012:
'Bath salts': Officials say the synthetic drug in disguise was behind recent ‘cannibal’ attack
The “cannibal” attacker who chewed off another man’s face in a gruesome crime in Miami Saturday is suspected to have been under the influence of a dangerous drug sold under the innocuous name “bath salts.”  Bath salts, also known by street names like “Ivory Wave,” “Vanilla Sky,” “Bliss,” and “Purple Rain”, made headlines last year after a rush of emergency room visits, thousands of calls to poison centers and several deaths. The man-made, synthetic drug is made from amphetamine-like chemicals and causes a unique combination of effects on the brain.

5/30/2012:
Amazon.com to begin collecting sales tax on N.J. orders next year
Amazon and other out-of-state online retailers currently do not collect the 7 percent sales taxes from New Jersey customers that in-state merchants are required to charge. Although residents are supposed to pay the levy when they file their income tax returns, few do.  Christie said that although forecasts differ on how much sales tax revenue the state will bring in, he put a "safe estimate" at $30 million to $40 million.  John Holub, president of the New Jersey Retail Merchants Association, called the agreement "great news" because "there’s been no bigger issue facing retailers than sales tax fairness and we now have a definitive date at which Amazon can no longer exploit this loophole."

5/28/2012:
Shell Tackles Gasoline Pump Fraud
A Counterfeit Skimming Initiative has produced a "significant reduction" in gasoline pump skimmers being placed on equipment at Shell-branded gas stations.  Acknowledging that pump fraud has become a constant battle ground as gasoline prices hit new peaks each year, Shell Oil has been proactive in tackling the issue at the pump through new programs, proprietary anti-fraud tools and closer collaboration with card issuers and law enforcement.

5/25/2012:
Assembly Votes Down DEP Waiver Rule
In a vote along party lines, the Assembly yesterday approved without debate a measure that declares a controversial rule allowing the Department of Environmental Protection to waive many of its regulations as inconsistent with legislative intent.  The waiver rule, stemming from an executive order issued by Gov. Chris Christie, would allow the DEP to waive its regulations if one of four conditions are met: They constitute an undue burden; they conflict with rules of other agencies; there is a public emergency; and there is a net environmental benefit.

TRAINING CLASSES!!
-ALL CLASSES WILL BE HELD AT NJGCA HEADQUARTERS-
66 Morris Avenue - Springfield, NJ 07081 (Union County)

PLEASE NOTE: FUTURE DATES WILL BE ADDED UPON REQUEST AND ACCORDING TO DEMAND.  CONTACT DEBBIE at 973-376-0066 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!!

MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE

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 require12 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 Phil Apruzzi 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 Phil Apruzzi at 973-376-0066 or email Phil at phil@njgca.org. Mention that you are interested in saving money on your energy bills. NJGCA & TMP Energy Solutions will handle all the rest.