May 15, 2015

Dear NJGCA Member:

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

Here is what you will find in this edition:

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE: GREETINGS & SAL-UTATIONS! 

DEVELOPMENTS IN PUBLIC OPINION OF SELF-SERVE
NJGCA FIGHT AGAINST MANDATORYTIRE REGISTRATION
MORE OPPOSITION TO ONLINE GAMING IN WASHINGTON DC
CHANGES TO BP'S REWARDS PROGRAM
NEXT NJGCA BREAKFAST MEETING IN PARSIPPANY

As you all should know, it was reported last week that Oregon has started to consider a transition to allow self-serve in the State.  Many NJ media outlets reported that New Jersey would soon be the only state where self-serve was illegal. Last week, a reporter from the Star-Ledger called me about a story he was doing, "Ever Wonder What Happens if You are Caught Pumping Your Own Gas in NJ? So Did We..."  As of the writing of this message, the article had over 500 comments on it, and at the bottom of the article, there was a non-scientific poll to encourage reader discussion. The question was, "should self-serve gas stations be allowed in NJ?" With over 13,000 responses so far, the results are 72% YES and 28% NO. When my staff first notified me of this, I went crazy.  I thought that this might finally be exactly what we need to put the final piece of our self-serve puzzle together. Granted, this will no doubt be a long, hard fight, but if there has started to be a shift in public perception, we will benefit from that tremendously. I have selected a few comments from the article to indicate some of the positive feelings on this issue. Please CLICK HERE to read the article itself, and CLICK HERE for a selection of reader comments which strengthen our case. I will continue to keep you in the loop on this issue, as it is becoming a bigger priority for us.
 
Another priority for NJGCA is preventing mandatory tire registration from becoming a reality, AGAIN.  Many of you who have been in the business as long as I have can remember the days where you were required to register every tire that you sold. Well the discussion has revived, and I actually wrote this message on Wednesday, because all day Thursday I was in Washington DC for meetings with both the Tire Industry Association, and Congressman Lance (R-NJ), who is the Vice-Chair of the US House Energy Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade. Presently there is a provision in the proposed highway bill that will mandate tire registration by retailers. This bill must be passed by Congressman Lance’s committee in order to become law. I will provide more details in next week's Road Warrior about the results of this meeting.
 
Another issue currently being discussed in Washington is online gaming, which includes Internet lottery.  A recent article indicated that Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) is interested in renewing the push to ban all forms of online gambling, including poker. Poker (and other forms of online gambling) is legal in New Jersey and Delaware, with at least 10 more states considering joining in. Even though online gaming (and Internet lottery) is technically legal in NJ, we have been successful in preventing Internet lottery from becoming a reality. If the US Congress passes a law banning online gaming, then it would (again) be illegal for Internet lottery to be offered in any State, but all of the other online gaming currently offered in NJ would also be in violation of federal law. This is a complicated issue with many financial implications for the State and Federal Governments, and my members, so you can be sure that we will keep a close eye on it.
 
I have an update for you based on our recent victory in keeping retailers from bearing the burden of the oil companies' rewards programs. Last week, BP announced a change to their program for all retailers in New Jersey. Since the BP program is a national program, and they could not (and did not want to) change the program across the whole United States just because New Jersey made it illegal to charge retailers for the rewards programs, BP decided to refund each retailer's account once a month for the amount of the rewards that is withdrawn. This way, retailers will be made whole, and will not be responsible for the 2.5 cent/gallon cost of participating in the program and being able to offer rewards to their customers. We will continue to learn more about this program and others as the rest of the oil companies make changes to adapt to the NJ law, and we will keep you informed of the results.
 
Finally, we had another successful breakfast meeting this week in Springfield, which stood out as one of the liveliest meetings we have had thus far. That is exactly what I look for, and I relish the opportunity for spirited conversations with my members about the issues that we're facing.  Next week, at 9:30 on Wednesday May 20, we will be in Parsippany at the Empire Diner on US Highway 46, so if that location is convenient to either your home or your business, please join us.  For more information, or to RSVP, please call Jacy at 973-376-0066.  Here are a few pictures from this week's meeting!

The group at the West 22 Diner in Springfield

This week's $50 raffle winner, Joe Benham, of Benham's Garage & Exxon

That's all for now!  Thanks for reading -- See you next week!

Regards,
Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

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

For info on the ENTIRE ETEP course, and the ETEP Re-Certification courses that NJGCA is offering, please click HERE.

To access the registration form and payment info, please click HERE.

FUTURE CLASSES WILL BE ADDED UPON REQUEST AND ACCORDING TO DEMAND. CONTACT DEBBIE at 973-376-0066 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 

NJGCA MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNERS LOOKING TO HIRE!

GILL ENERGY:

District Manager
Store Manager
Trucking Operations Manager

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

NEWS AROUND THE STATE: THE NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

05/11/2015:
Reid renews push to ban online gaming, maybe even poker
Sen. Harry Reid is receptive of Sheldon Adelson's push to ban all forms of online gambling, including poker. Reid said that if he isn't able to get an exemption for poker from a proposed ban of online gaming making its way through Congress, he may support a full online gaming ban. Online poker is legal and up and running in Nevada. Poker and other online gambling is legal in NJ and Delaware, with at least 10 more states considering joining in. Senate Minority Leader Reid’s comments give momentum to a federal ban moving through the House of Reps, aided the unlimited funding of Sheldon Adelson, Las Vegas Sands' CEO and online gaming's biggest opponent. Reid's comments double down on what the retiring Nevada Democrat said in a March interview with KNPR: That if a bill moving forward in the House of Representatives to ban online gaming makes it to the Senate, he'll "give it a good hard try to get it done over here." Reid also said on KNPR that last time he tried to rally support for a poker carve out, he couldn't get enough votes.
 
05/05/2015:
GM To Fall Short Of 500,000 Hybrid & Electric Vehicle Goal For 2017
In Nov. 2012, General Motors announced a goal of putting 500,000 electrified vehicles (any vehicle using electricity as mode of power, from mild hybrids to plug-in hybrids, and from extended-range electric cars to all-electric vehicles) on the road by 2017. Two and a half years later, the company now says it won't be able to achieve that goal. There were 180,834 GM vehicles on the road in 2014 with some form of electrification, according to the carmaker's 2014 Sustainability Report. That's up from 153,034 in 2013 and 39,843 in 2011.  GM counts vehicles made as far back as the 2010 model year. The total includes conventional hybrids, plug-in hybrids, all-electric cars, the range-extended Chevrolet Volt and Cadillac ELR, and mild hybrids.
 
05/06/2015:
E-Cig Tax Bill Update: 22 states have proposed e-cig taxes in 2015
Since the beginning of this year, 22 states and the District of Columbia have introduced bills that would assess an excise tax on e-cigs and nicotine liquid solutions used in e-cigs. With some state legislatures already adjourned and other states moving closer to adjournment for the year, the picture on e-cig taxes is becoming clearer. What is interesting is not just the fact that so many states are considering e-cig taxes, but also the different methods being proposed to tax e-cigs. So far, bills in eight states to tax e-cigs have either been defeated or died due to adjournment of the legislature. There are still bills pending in NY and NJ with proposals to tax e-cigs at 75% of the whole- sale price. Click the link to read more about the status of tax proposals in the other states.

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 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.