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May 24, 2018

Dear NJGCA Member:

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

Here is what you will find in this edition:

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE:

• Single Use Bag Ban Affects Repair Shops & C-Stores; Update: Gas Tax; Repair Shops - Hazardous Waste Reports; PIFs Be Alert - Gas Cap Removals; What's Going On in the Fuel Market? Reminder: New UST Registration; Diner Tour & Young Professionals Group

NJGCA CLASSIFIEDS
- Monmouth County: Gas Station and Repair Shop Business Since 2001
- Asbury Park: Commercial Building for Sale. Possible Sale of Business
- Bergen County: Shell Gas Station with 6-Bay Repair Shop for Sale

NEWS AROUND THE STATE
• Memorial Day Means a Gas Price Event at Congressional Exxon
• Is New Jersey’s Gas Tax About To Be Pumped Up?
• Drivers to Pay Highest Memorial Day Gas Prices in Four Years
• Democrats Prepare Assault on Trump Over Rising Gas Prices
• Farm Bill Fails on House Floor

TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE!
??????• Emissions Inspector Training Class, TUESDAY, May 8th

MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE BOARD
• The Amato Agency: Garage Insurance and Workers Compensation!
• ATS Environmental: Confidence in your Tank & Compliance Testing
• Bellomo Fuel: Exceptional Service, Aggressive Petroleum Marketing
• CBIZ Insurance: Our Business is Growing Yours!
• Gill Energy: Getting you There!
• Lending Capital: "Commercial Loans Made Easy" Program
• Salomone Brothers: Tank Testing and Environmental Compliance
• TMP Energy Solutions: Another Way to Save On Your Energy Bills

POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC
• Participate in the NJGCA PAC today and help us keep our Agenda rolling in Trenton!

Energy Information Agency Weekly Retail Gasoline Prices

JOIN NJGCA ON FACEBOOK -- CLICK HERE
TO SEE OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL -- CLICK HERE

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE:

SINGLE USE BAG BAN AFFECTS REPAIR SHOPS & C-STORES
UPDATE: GAS TAX
REPAIR SHOPS - HAZARDOUS WASTE REPORTS
PIFs BE ALERT - GAS CAP REMOVALS
WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FUEL MARKET?
REMINDER: NEW UST REGISTRATION
DINER TOUR & YOUNG PROFESSIONALS GROUP

There's been more discussion in Trenton around banning plastic bags and straws than there has been in a long time. This potential ban would affect repair shops who bag used and new parts and other products for their customers to carry out of the store and obviously, convenience stores. Plastic pollution is getting worse and the consensus in Trenton as well as other state capitals is that either hefty fees be placed on the use of these bags or an outright ban. Many are even proposing a ban on paper bags as well. Since obviously you are not only business owners but also consumers, this will have a ripple effect on all of our lives in every regard. We are hoping to be part of a compromise solution that will ease the burden on both business and consumers. It is important for me to keep you updated on this issue as it will have serious implications. For more information on where this is happening in New Jersey and where these discussions are taking place, see the below articles:

New Jersey Could See The End Of Single-Use Plastic Bags
Plastic Ban: Monmouth Beach Takes Aim At Straws, Bags
Levinson Encourages Towns To Act On Plastics Pollution
Statewide Solution Needed To Reduce Use Of Disposable Bags: Doherty

For those of you who are paying attention to the news, you may have heard rumblings that there is a potential for the gas tax to increase again this October. Last month, NJGCA sent a memo to the state treasurer as well as legislators in both parties on the budget committees to alert them that the analysis done here at NJGCA by Eric Blomgren revealed that a shortfall in the anticipated revenues from the gas tax increase of 2016 would result in an 2 to 4¢ increase based on the law. We have been working quietly behind the scenes with key legislators and were a little surprised when these facts popped up in the news earlier this week. This was a result of the treasurer being uncertain of facts surrounding the gas tax law in her testimony to the Senate Budget Committee. The newspapers picked up on it and began inquiring. We have received firm assurances from the highest ranking legislators in the senate that “there will not be an increase in the gas tax this year.” However, as much as I would like to bank on that statement, it is important for everyone to understand that this is not something the legislature can stop if the governor instructs the treasurer to increase the gas tax to make up for the shortfall in revenue. Even with the assurances, I am still concerned. We have been asking for the legislature to pass a “cleanup bill” that will help alleviate additional increases. Many legislators agree and express a willingness to do this but none have taken any action. I’ll keep you updated as more information emerges.

For those of you with repair shops that generate hazardous waste, I have learned from several members that a notice is being sent alerting you about the filing of hazardous waste reports with the federal environmental protection agency. Click here to read the memo that was received. We have sent this memo on to the NJDEP who have told us in writing that this memo can be disregarded. However, if any of you receive this memo, please contact us here as I wish to get a similar message in writing for each instance with the instruction to disregard. I would rather be safe than sorry!

Covert cars have been altered and now will have their gas caps removed. Also, the dashboard light that would illuminate when a gas cap is missing has been dismantled. This operation is designed to make sure you are checking that gas caps are properly installed on those vehicles that require them. The violation for not catching this is considered serious and could result in suspension or revocation of your PIF license. Back in 2016 MVC sent a message you all should have received through the VID with instructions on how to properly handle vehicles with missing gas caps. You can click here to see this message from 2016.

The cost of crude oil surprisingly continues to rise. I will repeat what I said several weeks ago: this is more a function of the potential unrest in the Middle East due to heightened friction between the U.S. and Iran. We have been immune from these increases for the past few years whenever problems have arisen in the Middle East due to an extraordinary amount of crude oil production that has come online in the U.S. since 2010. The difference this time is that over a year ago, OPEC nations conspired to cut production in order to increase prices. That means that any geopolitical unrest will cause the oil traders to speculate the price upwards. Crude oil has now hit 72 dollars a barrel. It is only natural that the price of gasoline continue to rise as the raw material to make gasoline continues to see price increases. What will happen to the price of a chocolate cake at the bakery if the price of flour or sugar were to increase rapidly about 30%? Or, what do you think would happen to a box of your favorite cereal if a bushel of corn went from $5 a bushel to $8 a bushel? My gut still tells me we will see a price decrease over the summer.

As a reminder, NJDEP is phasing in a new Underground Storage Tank Facility Questionnaire Registration Process. Please see below for all information:

1) NJDEP is replacing the 3 (three) year UST Registration with an Annual (one) year registration.
2) No increase in cost for the new UST registration:
       a. The cost for the new renewal UST registration will be $50.00 annually. (The old registration was $150.00 for three years)
3) The new UST Questionnaire is ten (10) pages long, you can download the form and complete it on your computer, print it, and submit it for renewal.
4) There is a 4 (four) page “help” document with directions to assist you in completing the form.
5)  The phase in begins for UST registrations that expire and are due to renew on June 30^th, 2018.
6)  If your Gas Station Business is located in Union County – you should have received the new UST registration questionnaire.
7) You must complete the new UST Registration Questionnaire and submit it with your annual payment of $50.00 to process the renewal.
8)  Since NJDEP renews the UST’s by County; we have included a list of Counties and when each comes up for renewal:
a.  Hunterdon/Somerset: 9/30/2018
b.  Gloucester/Monmouth: 12/31/2018
c.  Burlington/Mercer: 3/31/2019
d.  Camden/Ocean: 6/30/2019
e.  Atlantic/Cape May/Cumberland/Salem: 9/30/2019
f.   Bergen: 12/31/2019
g.  Passaic/Sussex: 3/30/2020
h.  Hudson/Warren: 6/30/2020
i.   Morris: 9/30/2020
j.   Essex: 12/31/2020
k.  Middlesex: 3/31/2021
9) You must submit a copy of your ENTIRE Financial Responsibility Insurance Policy with the renewal
a.  Please follow the instructions on the Guidance Document

Click here for the UST Certification Questionnaire Instructions
Click here for the UST Facility Certification Questionnaire

We have two Diner Tour meetings coming up, with the next one scheduled for June 13th at the Suburban Diner in Paramus and July 18th at the Shore Diner in Egg Harbor Township. Any member from any part of the state can attend any diner tour breakfast meeting. Make sure to let Michelle know if you will be able to attend by emailing her at michelle@njgca.org or calling the office. Additionally, if you have any young people working in your business or younger family members who you anticipate will be working with or for you in the future, please consider bringing them along with you to our Diner Tour, or any other future events we will be hosting! We are interested in starting up a young professionals group and need our members to help us identify those who might be interested. Please contact Michelle Horowitz or Eric Blomgren michelle@njgca.org or eric@njgca.org if you know of anyone who may be interested.

Finally, I want to wish you all a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. I hope you will all take time to remember the meaning of this holiday and honor those who have served in our military.

That’s all for this week,

Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

TRAINING CLASSES!!
All classes held at NJGCA HQ -- 4900 Route 33 West, Wall Township, NJ 07753

Emissions Inspector Training Class - One Day Only!
THURSDAY, JUNE 7th, 2018 -- 7 AM to 3 PM
Want one of your technicians to become a NJ Emissions Inspector? We can help! Our one-day class will provide all the information for becoming a NJ Emissions Inspector, and the State will administer the written test the very same day at our offices! We are offering the class: Thursday, June 7th from 7:00am to 3:00pm. Cost $275.
Click HERE for the registration form, and please send Debbie Hill a copy of your drivers license with the registration form

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!!

CLASSIFIEDS! -- FOR SALE & HELP WANTED ADS

FOR SALE:

Business For Sale: Monmouth County gas station and repair shop in business since 2001 is for sale. Owner is relocating out of state and is interested in selling business and equipment. Owner is open to limited financing. Business has a strong 10 year lease. The building has two repair bays and the gas pumps are leased to a large independent tenant. Repair shop business currently employs a Manager and two full-time Technicians. For inquiries and more info, please call Mark at 908-670-7798.

FOR SALE:

Commercial Building in Asbury Park, Possible Sale of Business, Too! For listing information, please click HERE.

FOR SALE:

Shell Gas Station with 6-Bay Repair Shop for Sale in Bergen County!

Business established in 1980. Fully equipped repair shop with 5 lifts including an alignment rack with a 2-year-old Hunter Hawkeye alignment machine. New Hunter tire machine & wheel balancer. AAA aproved and very busy.

Towing business also available which includes 3 Freightliner/JerrDan flatbeds (2015, 2016 & 2017), a 2012 Dodge crew cab wrecker with a Jerrdan Quick Pick & dual cable winch & 2 service trucks (a 2012 GMC 2500 utility truck with a plow & a 2014 Ford transit battery/service vehicle).

Pumping over 1,000,000 gallons per year. 100x300 lot with plenty of parking. Excellent location!!! Call Jim @ 201-851-3084.

NEWS AROUND THE STATE: THE NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

5/23/18
Memorial Day Means a Gas Price Event at Congressional Exxon
With Memorial Day weekend and summer driving season approaching, it was time once again for lawmakers to descend on a familiar Capitol Hill landmark. This time, it was Senate Democrats making the pilgrimage to the Exxon station at the corner of Second Street and Massachusetts Avenue Northeast to decry policies behind rising gas prices. . . Democrats want to Trump to take a multipronged approach. They want him to push energy executives to use funds from the 2018 overhaul of the tax code to benefit consumers, and to push members of OPEC to boost production.

5/23/18
Is New Jersey’s Gas Tax About To Be Pumped Up?
The state gas tax is not one of the revenue sources that Gov. Phil Murphy has proposed increasing in the next state budget, but that doesn’t mean New Jersey motorists won’t see a hike this year. Based on the current flow of revenue from the gas tax, and the way the tax itself is structured, it’s possible it may increase slightly later this year to help keep the state’s Transportation Trust Fund in balance. It’s too soon to say for sure, but the chances of a gas-tax increase of at least a few pennies went up this week after state Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio released the administration’s latest tax-collection estimates. The new projections showed the gas tax may not generate enough revenue at its current rate to meet an annual target that was established in a 2016 law using a formula designed to create more stability for spending on transportation projects.

5/22/18
Drivers to Pay Highest Memorial Day Gas Prices in Four Years
The national average price of gas rang in at $2.93 on Monday, May 21. Gas prices skyrocketed by a whopping 12 cents per gallon during the past 14 days and six cents since last Monday, AAA reported. Gas prices are now at the highest price point entering Memorial Day weekend in four years.As of Monday, May 21, 14 states had an average gas price of $3 or more, including not just the typical West Coast states where gas tends to be more expensive, but also in six Northeastern and Midwestern states.

5/21/18
Democrats Prepare Assault on Trump Over Rising Gas Prices
Democrats are preparing an aggressive assault on the Trump administration in the coming weeks over the cost of rising gas prices nationally. The campaign will take place from the halls of Congress to outside the Beltway, with committees and lawmakers painting President Donald Trump as having contributed to people’s pain at the pump. Gas prices are up nationally an estimated 56.2 cents over last year’s average and trending upwards. One Senate Democratic aide said the topic would be a theme in the ramp up to Memorial Day —when families hit the road— and it would be framed around the notion that the rise in prices has wiped away any financial gains that middle-income Americans may have seen from the tax cuts passed by Republicans at the end of 2017. Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee are, additionally, preparing a report on the financial gains accrued by oil and gas companies from that bill as a matter of contrasting it with the rising prices of gas overall.

5/21/18
Farm Bill Fails on House Floor
The House of Representatives failed to pass its version of the Farm Bill, a behemoth legislative vehicle that Congress considers every four years to reauthorize agriculture programs including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Despite House leaders delaying the final vote on the bill in a last ditch effort to pull conservative votes on the floor, the bill failed on a predominately party line vote of 198 to 213. Of the 213 votes against the bill, 183 were from Democrats and 30 from Freedom Caucus Republicans.

MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE BOARD:

TMP Energy Solutions

Another Way to Save on Your Energy Bills

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.

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 reflective of self-serve everywhere except NJ.