July 11, 2013

Dear NJGCA Member:

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

AFFORDABLE CARE ACT INDIVIDUAL HEALTHCARE MANDATE
STAGE II VAPOR RECOVERY
PARSONS COMMUNICATIONS PACKAGE FOR PIFs
LUKOIL DEALERS MEETING

Early last week, the US Department of the Treasury announced that large employers that do not provide health care coverage to their employees will not be penalized until 2015, as opposed to 2014, as is originally stated in the Affordable Care Act legislation. By delaying the implementation of the employer mandate, the individual mandate will essentially operate on an "honor system." As the Wall Street Journal pointed out in a recent piece, "Individuals are only supposed to be eligible for ObamaCare's subsidies if their employer doesn't offer the right benefits. But how will the Treasury KNOW who qualifies in 2014 if they lack the information that businesses are supposed to provide? Citizens must also pay the individual mandate-tax if they decline coverage from their employer. How will the Treasury verify these offers?" Imagine the ridiculousness of this situation. The Administration has chosen to hand out subsidies to people without going through proper channels or cross-referencing information, rather than admit failure. So they are dragging their feet on the implementation of their beloved healthcare reform. WHY? The answer is two-fold. First, it has been proven that the Affordable Care Act is harmful to small businesses. But what is going to be less harmful about it in 2015, than in 2014? Well, that's part two. It's a political decision. The Administration wants to get through the 2014 Congressional elections without any political fallout!

As ridiculous as this all seems, and you have to admit, the Administration looks pretty dumb right now, I am in no way advocating for individuals to take advantage of this silly situation and go without insurance for the next two years, just because you can. In fact, I think this is the perfect time to remind you, as small business owners and members of NJGCA, that you have the unique opportunity to obtain coverage for yourself and your employees by participating the the NJGCA AMT Health Coverage program. Just last week, AMT returned a 4.5% dividend to all NJGCA members in good standing who had purchased their health coverage from AMT during the calendar year 2012. So why not take this opportunity to shelter yourself from the dysfunction of the government-run system, and enroll in a healthcare plan that really works?! For more information, please call NJGCA headquarters and ask for Greg.

A recent news story detailed how Connecticut and Massachusetts are taking the next steps in the process to remove the costly and burdensome Stage II Vapor Recovery systems. The US Environmental Protection Agency allows states to phase out Stage II systems, intended to capture gasoline fumes at the nozzle, after it ruled last year Stage II is no longer cost effective at cutting air pollution. I wrote about this last year after meeting with NJDEP officials to get a timetable of similar actions in NJ.

However, there are some different dynamics at play here in NJ as it pertains to air quality, so our progress has been slowed. I hope that there will be a domino effect in New Jersey, but we need your help! Here's why: In 2012, the EPA ruled that most vehicles are now equipped with Onboard Refueling Vapor Recovery (ORVR) systems. One of the most widely used Stage II Recovery systems, called Vacuum Assist, is incompatible with ORVR-equipped vehicles, and refueling at vacuum assist fuel pumps can actually cause an increase in emissions.

Therefore, it is important for us to know what kind of Stage II Recovery System your station uses. We need to be able to counter NJ DEP with certain statistics, and you can help. NJDEP has no ability to access your records to determine what kind of Stage II Vapor Recovery System you have, although they have begun to record their observations as they do routine compliance inspections. My fear is that many of you may not know what type of system you have on the premises. There are enough cars on the road that have on board recovery, that it may actually offset the Stage II Vapor Recovery that you have at the station, and they will work against each other. Please find out what kind of Stage II Equipment you have at the station. I plan to survey NJGCA members in the near future so we can gather complete and accurate data, and present it to NJDEP. Let’s work together to get rid of this costly, burdensome system!

REMINDER: Last week I informed you that Verizon will no longer be handling the VIIS transaction service, and it will now be completely handled by Parsons. Some of the forms in the original enrollment package were sent in error, but the correct forms are now online. ALL PIF's must complete this paperwork and mail to Parsons before July 31, 2013. If you have any questions please direct them to 1888NJMOTOR or 1888-656-6867, or contact Debbie Hill at NJGCA at 937-376-0066.

UPDATE: The date of the LUKOIL Dealers meeting is now July 16, 2013. All LUKOIL dealers should have received multiple emails regarding this change. It is critical that you attend this meeting, and I look forward to seeing you there.

Thanks for reading – See you next week!

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 months, 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!

07/10/2013:
Subaru Swamped By Demand For XV Crosstrek In U.S., Hybrids In Japan
Last spring Subaru unveiled the 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid at the New York Auto Show. The company announced that in Japan, it received 5,850 orders for the Crosstrek Hybrid in just two weeks -- fully 10 times the monthly sales target of 550 units. Orders are almost double the total hybrid production allocated to the Japanese market from now through December. Even the XV Crosstrek itself is flying out of dealerships in the US -- with sales running roughly double what Subaru projected. Combined global demand for the Impreza line, the Crosstrek and now the Hybrid is so high that the factory making all those models is running flat out. As hybrids become increasingly popular, we see more and more evidence that Americans are more conscious of the environment and trying to rely less on oil and gas. We encourage you to stay ahead of the curve!

07/08/2013:
Democratic Senate Candidate Cory Booker wants to raise the minimum wage to $10.10
Part of Democratic Senate candidate Cory Booker's plan to combat child poverty would include passing the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which would raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour over two years. You all know the impact that this would have on the businesses you run. And even if you already pay your employees more than minimum wage, say $10 per hour, this drastic increase would shift the whole payment scale, pushing everybody's wages up. If passed, this would leave business owners with a difficult decision between cutting employees and raising prices in order for their business to remain profitable. If labor costs rise and the business can't make up for it with increased sales, it will put everyone out of a job. Please keep all of these potential consequences in mind as you vote in the Special Election this October.

07/08/2013:
ExxonMobil Launches Smart Card Promotion, new cardholders earn 18 cents per gallon
Exxon and Mobil retailers and Citi Retail Services are giving new Smart Card cardholders more ways to "Get Smart and Save" this summer. New ExxonMobil Smart Card cardholders who apply by 9/30/2013 will receive a limited-time offer of 18-cents-per-gallon rebates on qualifying purchases for their first two billing cycles, then get the ongoing savings of six-cents-per-gallon rebates on qualifying purchases each cycle after. Each billing cycle that they purchase at least 45 gallons of Exxon or Mobil branded fuel, they automatically receive the rebates as a credit on their billing statement. Savings apply up to 100 gallons each qualifying billing cycle.

07/07/2013:
Could Liquid Catalyst To Replace Platinum Make Fuel Cells Viable?
Fuel cells are often considered a significant part of the future energy mix, though they always seems to be decades away. That's partly due to the inefficient and rarely particularly green methods used to produce hydrogen, but it's as much about the cost of developing fuel cell vehicle and the expensive cells themselves. New technology which does away with the expensive platinum used in fuel cells could change that. Existing fuel cells combine oxygen and hydrogen through a platinum-coated membrane to generate electricity, then used to power the vehicle. British firm ACAL Energy removes this metal from the equation, using a liquid catalyst in place of platinum in the fuel cell. It helps generate electricity within the cell, and has the side-benefit of cooling the fuel cell too. Fuel cells may still be a few years away from widespread use -- and the world still lacks a suitable refueling infrastructure to back up the vehicles -- but as with battery-electric technology, small, consistent improvements will make it more and more viable.

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

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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