7-ELEVEN FRANCHISEE AGREEMENT
OPERATOR TRAINING UPDATES
VAPING FLUID TAX DETAILS

**Last chance for this July special**

7/24/18
San Francisco Bans Straws, Violators Could Be Hit With $500 Fine, Jailtime

San Francisco's Board of Supervisors has voted unanimously to ban single-use plastic straws, making it the second major American city to do so. The ordinance outlaws not just plastic straws, but also plastic splash sticks, toothpicks, and cocktail sticks, which would have to include those little swords and umbrellas. Other straw bans typically target food service businesses, but this one will prohibit anyone, including grocery stores and other retailers, from selling plastic straws. The United States is responsible for less than one percent of the world's plastic marine waste, and straws make up a tinier portion of this still. The best way to cut back on plastic pollution in the oceans is to improve waste management systems in China and other parts of the developing world, not to tinker with individuals' consumption habits in the States.

7/23/18
Trump to Seek Repeal of California’s Smog-Fighting Power

The Trump administration will seek to revoke California’s authority to regulate automobile greenhouse gas emissions -- including its mandate for electric-car sales -- in a proposed revision of Obama-era standards, according to three people familiar with the plan. The proposed revamp would also put the brakes on federal rules to boost fuel efficiency into the next decade, said the people, who asked to not be identified discussing the proposals before they are public. Instead it would cap federal fuel economy requirements at the 2020 level, which under federal law must be at least a 35-mile-per-gallon fleet average, rather than letting them rise to roughly 50 mpg by 2025 as envisioned in the Obama plan, according to the people.

7/23/18
‘Sin Taxes’ Are Unlikely to Deliver Revenue Bonanza to New Jersey
Tax revenue from legalized sports betting and e-cigarettes is now impacting New Jersey’s budget due to recent policy changes in Trenton, and legalized recreational marijuana use may not be too far behind. But a new report that looks at the next generation of so-called sin taxes throws cold water on the notion that they could provide cash-strapped states like New Jersey with a reliable fiscal bonanza. New Jersey already ranks in the top half of U.S. states for relying on revenue from sin taxes to sustain spending, according to Pew. The Garden State takes in about 5 percent of its total revenue stream from the sin taxes currently on the books, which include levies on gambling, drinking, smoking and from the state Lottery. The national average for sin-tax revenue is 2.3 percent.

7/19/18
Will New Jersey tax your tap water?
Critics of New Jersey's high taxes say residents have to pony up for everything but the kitchen sink. Well, the kitchen sink could soon be added to that. A state lawmaker is proposing a tax on tap water to revamp New Jersey's aging pipelines. The introduced legislation that would impose a 10-cent tax on every 1,000 gallons consumed, which Sen. Smith estimates would cost the average New Jersey household about $32 a year and would net the state about $150 million annually.
The money would be used to repair and replace aging infrastructure.

7/17/18
Grewal, with profile rising, may have future in politics
Six months ago, few outside of Bergen County would recognize the name of Gurbir Grewal, and even some residents there were likely not familiar with the former county prosecutor. But now, Grewal, who has since become Gov. Phil Murphy’s attorney general, is drawing national headlines for his opposition to some of President Donald Trump’s policies. Grewal has not spoken about any possible aspirations he might have toward a run at elected office, but some Democrats think he would be a good fit. “I don’t think he’s doing this with an intention to run for public office at some future date, however, if he ever chooses to do so, I think he’s incredibly qualified and would make a tremendous elected official,” Diegnan said.

7/26/18
An Extremely Detailed Map of the 2016 Election
Today The New York Times published an interactive map that lets you explore the 2016 presidential election at the highest level of detail available: by voting precinct. This map, although nearly two years old, continues to define American politics. The vast majority of people who voted for Donald J. Trump say they approve of his job performance today, while the vast majority of Hillary Clinton voters say they disapprove. On the neighborhood level, many of us really do live in an electoral bubble, this map shows: More than one in five voters lived in a precinct where 80 percent of the two-party vote went to Mr. Trump or Mrs. Clinton.

      

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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.

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.