GAS TAX UPDATE – NO PROGRESS MADE THIS WEEK...FOOD FIGHT IN TRENTON
WORKING TO ELIMINATE STAGE II VAPOR RECOVERY

To start this week, an update on the gas tax.  As anticipated, since nothing was agreed to there is now deadlock all around.  Our biggest fear is that the longer this goes on, the more desperate the situation becomes, and the crazier, and potentially more harmful, the solution will be to each of you.  No, none of us would like a 23-cent gas tax increase, however, as a result of the inability to reach a compromise, Governor Christie has signed an executive order shutting down repair and construction projects that are already in progress.  Over time there is likely to be a loud public outcry that will force either the Governor’s hand or the Legislature’s hand.  
 
There is a very real possibility that since the sides can’t seem to agree on a solution, the State will decide to borrow another billion dollars to keep the TTF going.  When Governor Christie leaves office in 2018, there is a very real likelihood that Democrats will control both the Governor’s chair and the Legislature, giving them free reign to raise all of those taxes that they have been trying to raise for the past 6 years.  Since many in the Democrat party are willing to raise the gas tax as high as 40 cents/gallon, and the total TTF debt will be over $20 billion at that point, you can rest assured that the gas tax WILL increase, probably for more than 23 cents, and you can also bet that sales tax on gasoline will be a very popular option and placed squarely at the center of the table.
 
We must be involved in seeking a better solution today, as opposed to waiting for a disastrous solution tomorrow.  I have no way of predicting what will happen. All I can do is continue to push for the compromises that we have agreed to. Both the Governor and the Speaker of the Assembly are away on vacation this week, but will be back next week. I assume the food fight will resume then.
 
Last week I made mention that I wanted to discuss developments in the elimination of Stage II Vapor Recovery at your locations, but because of the gas tax issue, I said I would discuss it this week instead.  A few weeks ago, Eric and I participated in a meeting with officials from NJ DEP along with our friends from FMANJ and several trusted MBPs who perform compliance testing on your vapor recovery equipment.  The meeting was to inform us that NJ DEP is now taking a more favorable view of the elimination of Stage II Vapor Recovery sooner rather than later.  The object of the meeting was to develop a plan that can be approved by the end of this year, and can be implemented in 2017, so that you all can begin the process of decommissioning your Stage II Vapor Recovery equipment.
 
Stage II is an extremely costly burden. Nozzles, boots and hoses are more expensive, and sometimes harder to purchase, than non-vapor recovery-equipped nozzles and hoses. Annual testing and repairs cost many people several thousand dollars every year.  And the scariest part of Stage II Vapor Recovery is the potential fines for having improperly functioning equipment, or damaged hoses or nozzles.  Not performing annual tests on time has proven extremely costly, as has failing to keep proper records that document your visual inspections of all of the equipment. Although much less often than a few years ago, we still continue to have members contact us for receiving penalties for these infractions of $50,000 or more.
 
The presentation that was made to us at this meeting is on our website so you can view it HERE, and I appreciate any input or comments that you might have regarding the decommissioning of Stage II Vapor Recovery.  Yes, there will be costs associated with decommissioning, but you will likely be given an option of NOT decommissioning.  Then, you would still have to comply with all of the record-keeping, inspections, maintenance and testing that you currently must comply with, and you will still be subject to all of the penalties and fines that presently exist. Once we know what the final plan is, we will assist you along the way to decommission your sites if you wish. There is still more information that needs to be discussed, but overall I am viewing this as a positive development.

Thanks for reading -- See you all next week!

Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

07/06/2016:
Hit a big lottery in New Jersey? State taking more off top
If someone buys a winning ticket for Friday's $508 million Mega Millions game in NJ, the state will be collecting more money at payout than it would have last month under a new policy of Republican Gov. Chris Christie's administration. Under the new rates, winnings greater than $10,000 up to $500,000 will have 5% automatically withheld and prizes above $500,000 will face an 8% withholding. Previously, prizes greater than $10,000 faced a withholding of 3%. The changes, which went into effect last Friday, aren't an increase in the income tax rate but instead are analogous to tax withholdings in an employee's paycheck. Acting Treasurer Ford Scudder told lawmakers the change would assist in the collection of taxes already owed. The rate change could bring in about $25 million more in gross income tax revenue, the treasurer estimated, a small fraction of total state revenue in 2017, projected at $35.6 billion.
 
07/06/2016:
California Tobacco, E-Cig Tax Goes to Voters
Advocacy groups in California have acquired the required number of voter signatures to place a question about increasing the state cigarette tax by $2 per pack, with equivalent tax increases on other tobacco products, and a new OTP tax on electronic cigarettes containing nicotine, on the November 2016 ballot.  If passed by voters, the additional revenues would be used primarily to increase funding for existing health-care programs, tobacco-use prevention/control programs, University of California physician training, dental prevention programs and administration, and tobacco-related research and law enforcement. A financial analysis compiled by the office of the California legislative analyst and director of finance shows that these proposed tax increases could result in an increase in excise tax revenues in the range of $1.1 billion to $1.6 billion annually by 2017-2018, with revenues decreasing slightly in subsequent years.
 
07/05/2016:
Without a gas tax hike, pump prices continue to tumble
This week we thought we may kiss low gas prices goodbye, due to a proposed increase in the state gas tax to fund New Jersey's roads and bridges. But with no action by the state legislature on the proposed 23 cents-per-gallon increase in the state motor fuels tax, prices continued their downward trajectory. On Tuesday morning, the average price of regular was $2.08, down a penny a gallon from Friday's price, according to GasBuddy.com. Commodities markets tried to push prices up last week, with the price of crude oil popping up to just over $49 a barrel. Crude oil prices opened the week at $47.61 on Tuesday at the New York Mercantile Exchange, as reported by NASDAQ. Wholesale gas hit $1.51 on Friday, which tumbled to $1.46 by Tuesday morning, and the average price for regular going into the holiday weekend was $2.09, with the discounters ranging from $1.81 to $1.83.