May 23, 2013

Dear NJGCA Member:

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

MILEAGE TAX TESTIMONY
TOBACCO AGE HIKE PROPOSAL
MANDATORY PAID SICK LEAVE
COMMUNITY RIGHT TO KNOW UPDATE
Happy Memorial Day from NJGCA!

Before we begin this week’s message, and on behalf of the entire NJGCA staff, I just wanted to take a few moments out to wish all of you a very sincere and heartfelt Happy Memorial Day.

In years past I have whimsically offered you suggestions on how to prepare hot dogs or what to do with your holiday weekend. This year my message is very simple: Say a prayer and give thanks to those men and women who died while serving the nation in our Armed Forces; spend time with your loved ones; and count your blessings!

Last week, I had to act on a bill introduced by Senator Whelan to address New Jersey’s chronically underfunded Transportation Trust Fund. Senator Whelan is correct in his assessment that the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund does not possess adequate funds to make all necessary repairs and improvements to our roads and bridges. Senator Whelan proposed to exempt passenger vehicles from the motor fuels tax and instead establish a mileage-based fee on passenger vehicles. There is just no easy way for our membership to accommodate Senator Whelan’s proposed changes to the motor fuels tax.

Senator Whelan’s original bill language established a mileage-based fee on every passenger vehicle with a few exemptions. Exempted vehicles would have the motor fuels tax refunded to them at the pump if they had an MVC sticker. This proposed legislation would further burden our members by requiring them to apply for a refund to get those monies back from the State.

I went to Trenton on Monday to oppose these proposed changes and point out the burdens that Senator Whelan’s bill would impose on my membership. However, as Senator Whelan introduced his bill to the Senate Transportation Committee, I realized just how “off” he really was. Senator Whelan seemed to think that giving customers their motor fuels tax refund would be as simple as “pushing a button at the pump.” In my testimony, I informed Senator Whelan and the Committee that it would be extremely costly to add a button, if that’s even possible in the first place. I also pointed out that even if that button were to magically appear, it still puts the burden on you to get your reimbursement through Treasury -- and we know how much Trenton loves to give back money. You'll pay the taxes out of pocket when you get a tanker delivery, and then be on their time to wait for the reimbursement to come in. No thank you!

By the end of the hearing, Senator Whelan had verbally agreed to the Committee that he is open to amendments. His main objective was just to start a conversation about the Transportation Trust Fund and additional sources of revenue to fund our road and bridge projects. Senator Whelan said that he would be open to implementing a flat fee for cars that did not pay any gas tax at all (compressed natural gas or electric only vehicles). Those vehicles, which do not use gasoline and therefore do not pay the gas tax, would pay $50/year to make up for what they are not paying for road taxes. Hybrid vehicles would not fall into this category since they do fill up at the pump, albeit less regularly than gasoline-only vehicles.

You can see a CBS Channel 2 TV interview that I did on this subject by clicking HERE.

Last week we briefly discussed a bill that was recently introduced by Senator Dick Codey (D-Roseland) and Assemblyman Ruben Ramos (D-Hoboken) which would raise the legal age to purchase tobacco products from the current 19 years of age to 21. You can take a look at our comments in last week’s Road Warrior by clicking HERE.

The announcement got a lot of attention from lawmakers and the press, so we wanted to dig a little further. Earlier in the week I responded to the Senator’s proposal by issuing a press release expressing our support for his noble intentions, but questioned if hiking the tobacco-sale age would truly combat the problem.

You can read the full text of our Press Release by clicking HERE.

I don’t think anyone reading this message would argue that smoking is actually good for your health. The evidence is overwhelming that it leads to an entire textbook’s worth of health ailments and can contribute to life-threatening diseases like cancer or emphysema. Senator Codey has good intentions.

Yet the focus of this bill – 19 and 20 year olds who can now legally purchase tobacco products – are not youngsters. Rather they are adults who are free to make their own decisions, whether good or bad. The only way to combat poor decisions is through education and awareness, not through mandates and regulations – OR BY DEPUTIZING YOU AS THE CIGARETTE POLICE.

And that’s ultimately what this bill does. Service station and convenience store owners are already “playing” police officer when they ask tobacco-purchasers for ID to comply with the law and keep these products out of the hands of youngsters and adolescents. How much of a burden will it be to extend that requirement to those under 21 years of age? Some may say that liquor store owners already comply with this mandate, so what’s the problem in making convenience store clerks and service station attendants do the same? Good point, but it is also illegal for someone under the age of 21 to possess alcohol. Senator Codey’s proposal only penalizes YOU for selling tobacco to an underage individual, while the underage purchaser gets off totally free if they do manage to get past you and are able to make the purchase.

The sponsors looked across the river to New York City to derive their inspiration. There is already a movement to raise the tobacco-buying age to 21 in the Big Apple, and under the guise of a “regional approach” to this problem, the New Jersey sponsors thought it was a good idea to get the same law implemented here. The reason for this, they say, is because anyone under 21 years of age could cross the border from New York to New Jersey to buy cigarettes, and then head back over the border. (I like the idea of NY citizens paying NJ Taxes)

As I stated earlier this week, if recent history has taught us anything about proposals originating in New York City, it is that all the good intentions in the world do not outweigh the decline of personal freedoms and individual choice. Perhaps the citizens of the Big Apple welcome a government that tells them what to eat, and what to drink – but that kind of social engineering does not belong in New Jersey! If under-21 year olds can vote, get married, serve their nation in the armed forces, and be legally adult members of society, then we can’t delay their decision to purchase or not purchase tobacco products – even if most of us believe they shouldn’t.

What’s more, noted Bergen Record columnist Al Doblin was similarly critical of the proposal in a piece he penned earlier this week. It is most definitely worth reading, so please click HERE to take a look at Mr. Doblin’s editorial. What do you think? Did he nail it?

In my humble opinion, this bill goes too far – and the ultimate proof may be in the proverbial pudding.

Looking at Press Release issued by Senator Codey, it is clearly stated that if someone happens to get past you and you sell tobacco products to an individual under 21, you’ll face a series of escalating fines before your license may be revoked. If the focus was truly on curbing young people from smoking, shouldn’t they also face fines for knowingly trying to dupe small business owners into selling them a prohibited product? With technology moving so quickly, plenty of young people can get their hands on very convincing fake licenses and counterfeit identification. Are we supposed to send you all to “fake-ID school” to pick out real licenses from fake ones? Would you even have the time to do that if Trenton did set up such a program?

Turning small business owners into detectives and cops isn’t going to solve this problem anymore than raising the tobacco age to 29 or 30 will.

Though many of you have already received this notice, I wanted to remind members that it is past the time to fill out their Community Right to Know (CRTK) surveys. The folks at DEP reached out to us to remind you that, while the surveys were originally due on March 1, 2013, on June 1, 2013 DEP will begin issuing $1,000 Penalties to Entities that have not completed them.

To learn more, CLICK HERE and read all the details – then get the survey done! Don’t give Trenton the opportunity to pick your pocket tomorrow when you can be in compliance today!

Finally I’d like to give you a brief update on some legislation in Trenton. On Monday the General Assembly passed A-3549, sponsored by Assemblyman Greenwald (D-Camden) and Assemblywoman Caride (D-Bergen). This bill, which NJGCA supports, would require the state to create a list of every gas station in New Jersey and update it monthly. I can tell you from firsthand experience; had this list existed in the aftermath of Sandy it would have been extremely beneficial in simplifying the process of getting the emergency fuel brought in by the Department of Defense delivered to retail stations.

The original version of this bill would have required this database to not only list the locations of every station, but also how much fuel was in the ground at any given time. I have no clue how anyone planned to obtain this information, but I imagined that it would have involved burdening you somehow, likely through some kind of regular reporting system. After I discussed this with the sponsors, they assured me that they would drop that requirement from the bill. The bill now moves on to the state Senate.

The other piece of legislation was just formally introduced on Monday. A-4125 from Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt (D-Camden), seeks to mandate that employers give all their employees PAID sick leave. An employee, whether they are part time or full time, would earn one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours they work. The rate of pay for the sick leave must be the exact same as it is for when they are actually working. In addition to being able to take this paid sick leave for their own, they would also be allowed to take these paid days off if someone else in their family is sick and needs to be taken care of by the employee.

I’m sure you can see the immense opportunity for abuse this proposal would provide. Employees, including part time employees, could simply say that they’re taking a paid day off not because of the fact that they’re sick, (something difficult enough to prove anyway) but because a relative is not feeling well. You would also only be able to require proof of actual illness if the employee uses three sick days consecutively. On top of that you would also be banned from taking any sort of disciplinary action against an employee for taking their sick leave. Again, it’s not a stretch to envision an employee who is disciplined for being lazy turning around and saying they’re being persecuted for taking a legally provided sick day. On top of all that, you would need to keep records of the hours every employee works going back 5 years in order for the government to make sure you’re giving out the proper amount of sick time.

This bill is being pushed by many of the same union supporters that got paid family leave passed a few years ago. These are people who have no interest whatsoever in what it’s like to own and operate a business and manage a payroll. They just have grand ideas about how society should work and want to mandate that businesses pay for it. They seem to think that businesses should essentially function as charities. When I and other business groups were fighting paid family leave several years ago, we were afraid that it would set the state further down a slippery slope that would eventually lead to something like this. Thankfully, the difference between then and now is that then the Governor was Jon Corzine, was a big union supporter. Now, the Governor is Chris Christie, a man who has placed a tremendous amount of value and emphasis on not burdening businesses with proposals like this.

Thanks for reading – See you next week!

Regards,
Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

Business Opportunity:
Successful High End Auto Repair Shop in business for 35 years.

•Location – 34 Rt. 206 South – Somerville, NJ
•Easy Access to all Major Highways. Rt. 287, 202, 78.
•All Equipment Stays (with the Exception of Tool Boxes), including 3 Rotary Lifts – Compressor – AC Machine – Press – Brake Lathe – All Office Furniture.
•Business Records Available For Review.
•Landlord in Process of Renovating the Facility.
•Tenant Lease Term to be Negotiated with Landlord – Monthly Cost: $3200.
•I am asking $60K for Turnkey Operation. Will Consider $42K down and $1500 per month For 1 Year to Qualified Buyer.

Serious Inquiries Please Contact Bill at 908-887-1385

NOTICE TO ALL MEMBERS:

Do you have a business for sale? Are you looking for a new location or opportunity?

NJGCA was recently able to lend a hand to members looking to sell their business by getting the word out. Since everyone reading this message is involved in the small business gasoline retail, convenience store, and automotive repair trades, it is an ideal medium to connect with interested buyers and prospects!

If you'd like to list your business for sale, publish a location you're selling, or are seeking a business partner for your establishment, please contact NJGCA at 973-376-0066!

After running an ad in the Road Warrior over the last month, NJGCA was able to assist a member in selling his equipment!

If you'd like to list equipment for sale, or have an open position you'd like to make other industry professionals aware of, please contact NJGCA at 973-376-0066 and let us help you get the word out!

05/23/2013:
Making the Switch from Diesel to Natural Gas: A Smart Economic and Environmental Decision
A report released yesterday by the national non-profit Energy Vision cited a rapid increase in the use of natural gas to fuel trucks – the increase has been tenfold over the past five years. The report, “Tomorrow’s Trucks: Leaving the Era of Oil Behind” claims that eliminating the need for 4.5 million gallons of diesel fuel has produced a fuel-savings of $4.5 to $6 million/year. Chuck Feinberg, chairman of the New Jersey Clean Cities Coalition, said that in New Jersey, there were literally NO natural-gas garbage trucks five years ago, but today there are more than 180. We encourage our members to stay ahead of the curve and consider investing in natural gas!

05/23/2013:
Editorial: New Jersey Needs Paid Sick Leave
This editorial outlines the favored arguments used by proponents to support paid sick leave. However, the author fails to consider the repercussions that this proposal will have on our members, you, the small business owners. While our arguments against paid sick leave have already been outlined in the above column, we thought it was important to share with you the types of justifications that are being used to support the proposal. Educate yourself on the issue so we can build a strong coalition of opposition when the proposal is heard in Trenton!

05/20/2013:
As emotions run high in Trenton, Senate President stalls Republican legislation
This week, a feud between Senate President Sweeney and Republican Leader Tom Kean, Jr. boiled over, and culminated in Senator Sweeney removing 7 pieces of Republican-sponsored legislation from the Committee agendas on Monday. This squabble has the potential to impact action on the state budget, nominations to the Supreme Court and other votes in Trenton. We cannot allow emotions, hurt feelings, and pride to prevent our State from moving forward and passing legislation to support New Jersey’s small business owners.

05/15/2013:
Millennials prefer car-sharing, want more mass-transit options
A new study by the US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) claims that, “the driving boom is over” and that Americans, especially Millennials, are starting to drive less and use more public transportation. The study cites steady growth in ridership on city buses and rail systems, as a result of younger Americans moving into urban centers and waiting longer to obtain a driver’s license. Those interest groups who advocate funding for mass transit systems as opposed to road and bridge construction projects are hopeful that this new information will work in their favor. However, some economists believe that this trend is not permanent, and once the economy recovers, younger buyers will purchase cars at the same rate as other generations.

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!!

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 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 973-376-0066 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 PARTICIPATON: 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
66 Morris Avenue
Springfield, NJ 07081
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.

THE MEMBER TOOL BOX

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