March 31, 2016

Dear NJGCA Member:

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

Here is what you will find in this edition:

MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTION CHANGES ANGER ENVIRONMENTALISTS
PROPOSAL TO REQUIRE FREE COMPRESSED AIR TABLED IN HEMPSTEAD
RETURN OF THE MANURE PILE: TRENTON WANTS YOU TO BE A RECYCLING CENTER & TRENTON TELLS YOU HOW TO SCHEDULE YOUR EMPLOYEES

As you should recall from last week's Road Warrior, we are still in a communications blackout with all officials from Motor Vehicle Commission. Every now and then I bump into the lobbyists who represent some of the contractors who placed bids, and we all look at each other and ask the same question, "Well, have you heard anything yet?" We are still awaiting the final decision on who the contractor will be, what the equipment will cost, and how the plan will be implemented. What we did hear, last week, was that MVC released an official memo noting the discontinuation of tail-pipe testing as of May 1. Environmental groups are up in arms about this new policy, but overall this decision should be good news for you, because the population of vehicles requiring tail pipe testing is quickly diminishing to zero, and the cost of any new tailpipe testing equipment would never produce a return on investment for you. We will keep you updated!

Now, let's discuss my experience this week at the People's Republic of Hempstead, Long Island, where town officials want gasoline service stations and convenience store operators to provide motorists with FREE compressed air. The town of Hempstead is very large geographically, and there are over 200 businesses within its boundaries that this proposal would affect. Thankfully, plenty of opposition came out on Tuesday, with over 100 gas station owners in attendance, along with my counterparts from the NY Associations, and attorneys representing those Associations.

The proposal is pretty simple: FREE compressed air must be available at all gasoline service stations and convenience stores during the business' hours of operation. Town officials felt that they were making a compromise by amending the proposal to only requiring it during business hours, instead of making it mandatory 24 hours a day. This means that at the close of business each day, the proprietor will shut off the electricity to the compressor and take in the hose. Instead of a motorist having access to air 24/7 (in the form of coin-operated air vending equipment), once the gas stations and c-stores close, any motorists needing air will be essentially stranded. Additionally, let's consider exactly what this proposal would do to the small businesses in town:

The biggest burden will be on the majority of gas stations that have closed their repair shops and converted to convenience stores. They no longer have air compressors to operate lifts, so they are forced to install air vending equipment in their parking lots, but it must be operated without payment. Our MBP, Service Station Vending Equipment (SSVE) attended the hearing on Tuesday and testified that the installation of this equipment would cost erach small business owner $3,000+.

Anybody with air vending equipment currently on their property will need to have the equipment modified so that it no longer requires the payment of quarters to operate. All operators will still incur the costs of the electricity that it takes to run these compressors, and the cost of replacement hoses and air nozzles, without ever having a chance to recoup their expenses.

I'm going to repeat what I said last week. This proposal is a cancer, and just like all of the stupid laws that are passed in NY that eventually end up in NJ, we will fight to make sure this one never enters our borders. Heavy doses of chemotherapy must be administered NOW so that it never spreads. Trust me, there will be a harebrained legislator in this state who will point to this travesty in Hempstead and think its a good idea in NJ.

For those of you who don't charge for air, that is YOUR decision, and many of you have chosen to do so as a service to your customers and to gain a competitive advantage. I applaud you. Many of you have also chosen to use air vending as an additional revenue source to recoup the costs of providing this service, and as a way to make a few extra dollars in profit. Again, that's up to each individual business owner, and I applaud you too. Either way, this is your decision, not a decision that anyone is forcing you to make!! What I don't want is another government agency putting handcuffs on you! I wonder if these dopes in Hempstead would consider requiring every bakery in town to give away a free cookie to everyone who walked in their door!

It has been a while since we have included a section on stupid legislation in our weekly email, but I was inspired by what I just experienced in Hempstead... Plus, these two bills are being discussed in Trenton on Monday, so the timing works. This section used to appear regularly and was a compilation of all the stupid things that were introduced the previous week in Trenton. It was fondly referred to as the Manure Pile. Certainly, the actions being considered in Hempstead would qualify for the Manure Pile.

This week's entries, both of which I became aware of this morning, are on the schedule for a hearing on Monday in Trenton. Eric will be there to voice the opposition of NJGCA on both bills, as I have other important matters clogging my schedule.

On Monday, the Assembly Environment Committee will be holding a hearing on a bill that will significantly impact every convenience store, and possibly every gas station that has soda vending machines in the state. The “Smart Container Act” will turn every retailer in the state that sells virtually any type of beverage, in virtually any type of container, into a mini-recycling center. Every glass, metal, aluminum, steel, or plastic bottle, can, or jar for every beverage (excluding milk, hard liquor, soup, and medicine) which holds more than 8 ounces and less than one gallon of liquid will be covered by this act. The language is vague, but I'm concerned that this law will also apply to you even if you are a gas station with a soda vending machine. I am seeking clarification from the Office of Legislative Services.

Every distributor of these products would have to pay the State 10¢ per container as a deposit, a cost they would pass directly onto their retailers. When a customer comes into your store with empty containers, you will have to count them up and give the customer 10¢ for each container (if the container is between 24oz and 1 gallon it would actually be 20¢ each). Then you would have to store all of these dirty used containers someplace and be legally required to ensure that every one of them is properly recycled. Hmmmm..I wonder how the local Health Inspector will view this when conducting routine inspections.

Every month you would file a report to the State Treasury detailing how many containers you collected and how much money you gave away, and then Treasury would cut you a check in that amount. Records of how much garbage came in would have to be kept for 3 years. You would also need a special sign at the register informing customers of their ability to get these deposits back.

The whole point of a convenience store is just that, convenience. Your customers want to be in & out of the store as quickly as possible, and you want that too. You don’t want your clerk sifting through garbages bag of used, sticky bottles and cans counting up the total number, and then handing the consumer some change. At the very least, this government-sponsored recycling Ponzi scheme should involve voluntary enrollment. Besides, all NJ residents are required to dispose of their recyclable properly through their municipalities, which earn badly needed revenues by selling these recyclables. Will residents stop putting out their recyclables with the trash and start bringing them to you for cash instead?

The second bill earning Manure Pile status today allows employees to request changes in their work schedule or hours worked/on call without retaliation. For those of you who schedule gas pumpers and c-store clerks, this law (if passed) will be a nightmare for you filled with fines, penalties & employee actions. (Are you interested in self serve yet?) Some provisions of the bill include:

That’s enough manure for this week.

Thanks for reading -- See you all next week!

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!!

NJGCA MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER GILL ENERGY LOOKING TO HIRE FOR (3) DIFFERENT POSITIONS!

For more information about these positions, and to submit a resume for consideration, please contact: ravigill@gillenergy.com.

3/30/2016:
Earned Sick-Time Mandates Exhibit Healthy Growth at Municipal Level
Workers advocates want to make sure that earned sick time -- which gives employees one hour of leave for a given number of hours put in on the job -- is a right not a reward. But rather than taking this battle to the State House, and an expected veto from Gov. Chris Christie, they’ve been working at the local level, hoping to build momentum for state action. Ironically, most business groups say they want a statewide solution, saying that try to comply with a patch-work of regulations will only make doing business in NJ more difficult. Many also believe that some form of sick leave is inevitable and appear willing to discuss the issue. So far, twelve municipalities have enacted some form of earned sick-time ordinance, with Plainfield becoming the latest earlier this month, joining the state’s four largest cities -- Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, and Elizabeth -- along with Bloomfield, East Orange, Irvington, Montclair, New Brunswick and Trenton

3/29/2016:
N.J. will eliminate tailpipe emissions tests for older cars
NJ is eliminating the requirement for older passenger cars to have a tailpipe emissions test every two years, a move that has drawn criticism from some environmentalists concerned about air quality. The tailpipe test currently is required for passenger cars from model year 1995 and older, and the fleet of such vehicles on the road is shrinking, diminishing the value of maintaining the tailpipe test system, said Sandy Grossman, a spokeswoman with the state Motor Vehicle Commission. Of the 7 million vehicles registered in NJ, only about 200,000 are still required to have tailpipe emissions tests. And of those, only 15% (30,000) fail the test, Grossman said. Every month, about 3,500 of the older vehicles are taken off the roads anyway, she said. Tests on newer model cars – those from 1996 on – have no tailpipe emissions test. Instead, emissions inspections involve tapping into each vehicle’s built-in onboard diagnostics system.

3/29/2016:
Motor Vehicles Wants to Stop Tailpipe-Emissions Testing on Older Cars
NJ is proposing changes to its vehicle inspection program that would exempt 200,000 older passenger cars -- the ones most likely to pollute the air -- from being tested for tailpipe emissions. The NJ Motor Vehicles Commission published a regulatory proposal earlier this month to simplify its emissions-testing procedures, which the agency, says could save the state up to $18 million a year and reduce waiting times at state-run inspection stations. The proposed changes mostly affect passenger vehicles built in 1995 or before by eliminating the traditional tailpipe-emissions test. It would also allow certain diesel-fueled cars to be self-inspected. Motor vehicles and other types of transportation are the biggest source of air pollution in NJ, a state that has never met the federal air-quality standard for ground-level ozone, the main ingredient in smog.

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 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
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.

*NEW*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 for reflective of self-serve everywhere except NJ.