June 4, 2010

GREETINGS AND SAL-UTATIONS!

Dear NJGCA Member:

PROGRESS ON OUR SAFETY INSPECTION FIGHT

I want to start off this week by addressing a grave oversight from last week’s Road Warrior.

In our haste to address a number of critical issues last week, I neglected to wish you and your family a very Happy Memorial Day!  Though the festivities have passed, it is my sincerest hope that you took a few moments during your backyard cookout or trip down the shore to reflect on the special meaning of this holiday.  Despite our problems and daily trials, we should never forget how very fortunate we are to live in America – or those who paid the ultimate sacrifice to guarantee freedoms we enjoy today.

Now, back to business…

Our fight to keep Safety Inspections as part of the motor vehicle inspection program continues.  As you recall, last week I laid out how I envisioned the next few weeks playing out. In it, I outlined the following:

1. By June 4th any Legislator must sponsor a Resolution to the Budget Committee in either the Senate or General Assembly seeking to replace the Governor’s proposal to eliminate Safety Inspections (which saves $12 million a year) with the NJGCA plan to redirect all re-inspections to PIF locations (which saves $13 million a year).   By law, all Resolutions must remain in the committee for 14 days before being acted upon.

2. On or about June 18th (14 days after being submitted to the Committee), the members of the Budget Committee will vote to include the Resolution to change the Governor’s budget to the entire legislative body, either the Assembly or Senate.

3.  If affirmatively voted out of Committee, it will be included in the final budget package to be voted on by the entire Legislature and then sent to the Governor. 

4. Governor Christie has to sign the entire budget presented to him by the Legislature.  If he is unhappy with what he receives, he can veto the entire budget or he has the power to veto any line item in the budget. 

I’m thrilled to report that in less than a week, we’ve scored a big victory in getting this problem addressed.  Thanks to some key meetings with Legislators, and phone calls made by our members, I’m happy to inform you that we can cross step #1 off of our check-list!!

The Chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee, Assemblyman Lou Greenwald has committed to co-sponsor the NJGCA Resolution along with Assemblyman Chivukula, and Assemblywoman Voss. The Resolution would change Governor Christie’s plan to eliminate Safety Inspections from his proposed budget and substitute it with my plan to move all re-inspections to PIF locations.  As you recall, doing this would save the state $13 million each year, compared to the Governor’s proposal which would save $12 million.

Yesterday, I met with the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Senator Paul Sarlo.   Senator Sarlo has also committed to sponsoring a Resolution in the NJ Senate along with Senator Cunningham.

More importantly, however, the NJGCA plan would keep safety inspections intact.  That means that the majority of unsafe vehicles will be kept off the road AND that you will be able to make better use of the expensive equipment you just purchased.

Each bill is in the process of being drafted by the Office of Legislative Services (OLS).  This is time sensitive as all resolutions that make changes to the Governor’s proposed budget must be submitted to the respective budget committees by June 4.  YES THAT IS TODAY!   After 14 days I expect each budget committee will pass the resolution and send the resolution on to the full legislature to be included in the budget that is presented to the Governor.

What does this all mean?  It means we’ve made tremendous strides in a very short amount of time, but we are far from finishing the fight.

That ALSO means I need you to continue to make phone calls to the group of Legislators I outlined in last month’s Wildfire Alert. You can view it by clicking HERE – Once you’ve read it, get going!  The only way to win this is for you to contribute and create the buzz I need to pass our Resolution!

As also reported last week, the Governor’s Privatization Task Force was due on the Governor’s desk at the beginning of the week. Unfortunately I don’t have any official news to share with you at this time, but hope to update you next week with any new details.  Stay tuned!

Please call me with any questions and remember to keep those cameras handy.  I need you to send me pictures of unsafe vehicles in your shop!!

Some important news has been overshadowed by the attention I have been paying to Motor Vehicle Inspections.  You may remember that last year NJGCA was instrumental in passing a First Right of Refusal bill that keeps oil companies and major distributors from selling the real estate occupied by lessee dealers without first offering the property to the dealer.

Last November Lukoil which wholly owns Getty transferred all of the properties owned by Getty and leased to Lukoil dealers.  I believe that Lukoil blatantly ignored the law we passed and has damaged their dealers.

I learned of this violation in January and I called together all of the Lukoil dealers in NJ.  Two weeks ago Lukoil dealers filed a lawsuit in Superior Court asking for remediation and damages.  If not for the law that we passed last year, Lukoil dealers would not have a case.  I will keep you posted as the case progresses.  Let’s keep our eyes on Exxon, Shell, and Sunoco!

Thanks for reading -- See you next week!

Regards,
Sal Risalvato
Executive Director 

 IN THIS WEEK’S NJGCA ROAD WARRIOR                                    

UPDATE: NEW PIF CLASSES ADDED!!
•Added All PIF and Diesel classes below!!

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

NEWS AROUND THE STATE
•Commentary: Garden State motorists rank among the worst
•Governor creates new corporation to attract business
•Report: Any alternatives to hiking the Gas Tax?
•Motorists surprised by State Police ticket blitz

 ON THE NJGCA HOMEPAGE                                                           

MEMBER SAVINGS PAGE
Check out all of our MBPs and Programs designed to SAVE YOU MONEY!

HELPFUL LINKS
Looking for something? Take a look at our list of useful links!

NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
Find all our communications and search for old e-newsletters. Take a look!

NEWS AROUND THE STATE ARCHIVE
Need to catch up on events?  Want to see what's going on?  Find out here!

 KNOW YOUR TERRITORY MANAGER!                                           

Henry Darden: Territory Manager for Middlesex, Union, Part of Essex (Southern Half)
Cell: 973-477-0057
Email: henry@njgca.org

Jack Leli: Territory Manager for Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Ocean, Salem
Cell: 732-995-1637
Email: jack@njgca.org

Bob Quirk: Territory Manager for Bergen, Hudson, Part of Essex (Northern Half)
Cell: 201-214-8836
E-mail: bob@njgca.org

Frank Stewart: Territory Manager for Morris, Sussex, Warren, Hunterdon, Passaic
Cell: 973-234-7403
Email: frank@njgca.org
 
Don Stohrer: Territory Manager for Monmouth, Mercer, Somerset
Cell: 732-539-2955
Email: don@njgca.org

UPDATE: NEW PIF CLASSES ADDED!!
CALL FOR FUTURE CLASS SCHEDULE INFORMATION

SPECIAL NOTICE: All PIF & DIESEL INSPECTORS

Location: NJGCA Springfield Office (Boardroom)
Time: 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm each night
Tuition: Member: $489.00 – Non-member: $629.00

PLEASE NOTE: We are always in the process of putting together additional classes. If you are interested in taking classes in this time period, please call NJGCA and let us know so we can add you to the list.

Call Debbie Hill to enroll in the classes at debbie@njgca.org or call 973-376-0066.

POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC

Ensuring our friends in the legislature are re-elected and advocating for our agenda in Trenton are of utmost importance to the agenda of NJGCA.

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 the shoulders of a few.  This is not fair to them, and it is not fair to many of you who are relying on the benefits of good legislation being passed in Trenton.

To truly understand the importance of fundraising for our allies, let’s look back upon the overwhelming successes of the last year:

NJGCA successfully lobbied against BELOW COST SELLING. If approved, BELOW COST SELLING would have cost each of you thousands of dollars and put many of you out of businesses.  NJGCA leaned on some of our friends in the Assembly and literally had the bill pulled off the floor on the day it was scheduled to be voted on.  Our friends in the Legislature helped us get this accomplished.

NJGCA made history and led the charge to pass the most comprehensive protection of franchisees in decades with FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL legislation.  FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL passed only because NJGCA and dealers throughout the state were able to lean on several friends in the Assembly and the Senate.

NJGCA has been rallying support for RIGHT TO REPAIR over the last two years among key legislators.  This would end the practice of car manufacturers denying you the codes necessary to complete the repairs you make on your customers cars.  Every state has tried to pass RIGHT TO REPAIR and no state has even been able to get the legislation out of committee.   Because of our friends in the Legislature, NJGCA has been successful in getting this bill passed by the Assembly and now awaits a vote in the Senate.

I am asking some of you as individuals to make a contribution and attend a fundraising event sponsored by one of our friends in the Assembly.

However, we will not be able to host events for all of our friends, so the NJGCA PAC will have to make contributions.  You will be receiving letters soon from the NJGCA PAC asking you to make contributions. 

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. 

NEWS AROUND THE STATE

6/3/2010:
Commentary: Garden State motorists rank among the worst
According to the 2010 National Drivers Test, 38 million licensed Americans would not pass a written drivers examination if it were administered today.  Of the states that were polled, New Jersey ranks second from the worst.  Click above to read the commentary and take the test online!

6/2/2010:
Governor creates new corporation to attract business
In an effort to bring new businesses to New Jersey and help make current rules and regulations easier on companies already doing business in state, Governor Christie has launched Choose New Jersey, a non-profit corporation designed to market, promote and facilitate business attraction, expansion and retention.  You can also view of a video by clicking HERE

5/30/2010:
Report: Any alternatives to hiking the Gas Tax?
The Asbury Park Press recently reported on the dwindling balance in the Transportation Trust Fund and what steps may need to be taken to replenish it in order to get matching federal funds.  Since Governor Christie continues to oppose and Gas Tax hike, what other alternatives are on the table?  Click above to read the article and see what leaders around the state are suggesting to fix the problem.

5/26/2010:
Motorists surprised by State Police ticket blitz
Parkway and Turnpike drivers have seen an increase in ticket-writing over the last two months as State Troopers have increased summons by 61- and 45-percent, respectively.  The increase comes after comments made by Transportation Commissioner, Jim Simpson, who alluded to excessive truck-speeds and the danger it poses to other motorists.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES IN OUR “NEWS AROUND THE STATE” ARCHIVE