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January 21, 2021
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 Inside this issue
  Executive Directors Message  
 
 
PPP OFFICIALLY FULLY REOPENS
REQUIRED EMPLOYEE POSTERS
SMOKING CESSATION MANDATE STALLS
INAUGURATION OF #46: PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN
NEW INL TRAINING SESSION DATES SCHEDULED

SOUND PAYMENTS WEBINAR TODAY 

PPP REOPENED
I want to remind you that by now, the second round of PPP is now fully open. If you missed our message last week, starting Tuesday, January 19th, SBA began accepting applications for 1st and 2nd PPP loans from all approved lenders.
  • To receive a second PPP forgivable loan you must have suffered a 25% decline in gross revenue in any quarter of 2020 compared to the same quarter in 2019. The amount of the loan is still your average monthly payroll multiplied by 2.5. The money can only be spent on certain approved expenses--including payroll, rent, mortgage interest, utilities, and a few other expenses which have been newly added such as PPE costs. If 60% of the money is spent on payroll then the entire loan will be eligible for forgiveness. You will now have 24 weeks to spend the money (it was 8 weeks under the original rules).
  • Applications for a PPP loan will end on March 31st or when the federal money runs out. We encourage you to reach out to your preferred lender now and to get your information together so you can be first in line.
EMPLOYEE POSTERS
With a new year already begun and a pandemic among us, all business owners should definitely be doing a personal assessment of displayed employee posters and determine if you may be missing any or if you need to update your current ones. Last year, we alerted you to scammers taking advantage of business owners needing these required posters and charging to have them printed and delivered. As a reminder, these posters are available for FREE on our website. In addition to these, employers are also required to post information from the NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development, NJ Office of the Attorney General, Division on Civil Rights and the US Department of Labor. We have links to access all of these posters on the website link above, and all of them continue to be free. Do not fall for any scammers charging to print these posters!
 
SMOKING CESSATION MANDATE
Last Thursday the state Senate Health Committee held a hearing on S-2943, which would mandate that every business that sells cigarettes or other tobacco products must also offer for sale some type of FDA-approved tobacco cessation product, such as Nicorette gum (which has begun selling small packages of their product targeted for sale at c-stores). You can read the testimony we submitted in opposition to this bill HERE. While normally bills like this easily pass the Health Committee, Senator Ron Rice (D-Essex) spoke up in defense of small businesses. He advocated against adding further expenses through this unfunded mandate, especially since this change in state law would directly enhance the bottom line of the big pharmaceutical companies which make these products (a representative from GlaxoSmithKline testified in favor of the bill). Sen. Rice isn't always on our side but he definitely is always a passionate advocate in the legislature for his constituents. Following Sen. Rice's objections, the bill was pulled from consideration, with the hope that some type of compromise amendment could be drafted.
 
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN
We are officially 24 hours into a new presidency, and this new administration has already made promises to bring about several policy changes. We can expect President Biden to undo some previous Trump efforts, as well as bring some new ideas to the table. We have already heard that many Trump environmental regulations can be expected to be rolled back in the first week alone, though nothing has been officially announced as of this writing. Stay tuned, we may have some environmental policy updates as soon as next week's Road Warrior at the least, and you can definitely expect to see updates in future On the Road newsletters.
 
NEW INL TRAINING SESSION DATES SCHEDULED
We're pleased to announce that our previously cancelled NJ State Emission Inspector training class (from December 16 & 17, 2020) has been rescheduled.
 
As you know, our December session was cancelled due to a snowstorm.  Our training classes always include the participation of the Motor Vehicle Commission ("MVC") to administer the INL exam immediately after our in-class instruction.  Unfortunately, MVC is experiencing a personnel shortfall and there is an ongoing testing backlog.  When the snowstorm canceled our session, the ensuing State of Emergency also impacted other scheduled INL exams throughout New Jersey.  
 
Though it took far longer than anticipated, we were thankfully able to coordinate two new sessions with State officials and appreciate your patience in working through the logistics. With the forgoing in mind, we can confirm that our "make-up session" and "overflow session" will now take place on the following dates:
Session Option 1 ("December Make-Up Session"): 
Tuesday, February 2nd @7:00am (In-Class Instruction and Written Exam)
Wednesday, February 3rd @12:30pm (Gasoline Hands-On Training)
 
Session Option 2 ("Overflow Session"):
Thursday, February 11th @7:00am (In-Class Instruction and Written Exam)
Friday, February 12th @12:30pm (Gasoline Hands-On Training)
 
The training itinerary for each session is as follows:
DAY 1:
Classroom Training and Written Exam Class
Location: NJGCA Office -- 4900 Route 33 West, Wall Township, NJ 07753  on the SECOND FLOOR TRAINING ROOM
Arrival: 7:00 am (Coffee will be provided)
Lunch: 12:00pm (Pizza and soda provided - As a precautionary measure, slices will be handed out by NJGCA Staff, only)
NJMVC Test: Approximately between 1:00PM and 1:30 PM.  NJMVC will administer a "Written" Exam on a computer tablet. You must earn an 80% on the test.
Hands-On Training PowerPoint: 3:00 PM
PLEASE NOTEYou MUST have your official NJ State License with you on to take the MVC exam.
 
DAY 2:
Hands-On Training, Gas Inspection Equipment Only Class
Location: B&F Auto South, 2276 Hwy 34 North, Allenwood, NJ 08720
Arrival: 12:30 pm
PLEASE NOTE: Day 2 is the Gasoline Emissions Hands-On training, only.
-Once your Hands-On Training is completed, MVC will make an appointment to visit you at your place of employment to administer the Gasoline Hands-On Test.
-You will need to present your hands on training certificate to MVC to illustrate you completed Day 2. 
*** Diesel Emissions Inspector Hands-On Training can be provided for an additional fee (please see your instructor, Peter Perrella, for details and logistical arrangements).
Please note that our classes are on a first-come/first-serve basis.  We are capped at 10 students per training session. This constraint is artificially imposed by MVC due to a technological hardware limitation, but also in view of the ongoing COVID social distancing mandate. If we cannot accommodate you in the forthcoming sessions, we are happy to update you when our next session is scheduled.
 
If you would like to attend one of these sessions, please email training@njgca.org with your interest.
 
SOUND PAYMENTS WEBINAR TODAY
With the EMV deadline coming up, Sound Payments wanted to share how stations can more easily and cost-effectively upgrade. Join an educational webinar TODAY hosted by Sound Payments where they will discuss options, including more about retrofits. https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ZzU11P3lTG6TlPCCxRBNww

 

Final quick note: Last week's Road Warrior was linked to last year's compliance calendar inadvertently. The link has now been fixed, and the 2021 calendar can be found HERE in addition to on the slider on our home page, where it will remain until next year's calendar is released.
 
Be Well -  
Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

 

 
 

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  Training Class Schedule  
 

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

Contact Nick De Palma at Nick@njgca.org to inquire about additional class dates

 

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  News Around The State  
 

1/20/21
From Keystone XL To Paris Agreement, Joe Biden Signals A Shift Away From Fossil Fuels
America's energy policy is getting an extreme makeover. President Joe Biden is wasting no time undoing the Trump administration's efforts to prop up fossil fuels and deny the existence of a climate crisis. On his first day in the White House, Biden took a series of executive actions that put an exclamation point on his commitment to address climate change. Biden immediately moved to rejoin the Paris Agreement on climate change, revoke a permit that former President Donald Trump granted to the controversial Keystone XL pipeline and place a temporary moratorium on oil and gas leasing in the Arctic.

1/20/21
Some Employees Shy Away From COVID-19 Vaccine
A Kaiser Family Foundation survey showed 27% of Americans have vaccine hesitation, expressing doubts about getting a COVID-19 vaccine. Among health-care workers, that number jumps to 29%. The issue of more than a quarter of U.S. residents who have said they will refuse a coronavirus vaccine has raised questions among employers, such as can they fire workers who don't want to get vaccinated? "It's not cut and dry," said Ubaka Ogbogu, professor of law and bioethics at the University of Alberta in Canada. "Not all vaccines are created equal, and not all diseases are created equal. It's a very complex thing." The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released guidance in December saying a business can implement a mandatory vaccination requirement if it's related to the job or if being unvaccinated would directly impact other workers, customers or themselves. For example, a retailer could say front-line employees like cashiers are at risk because of daily interactions with customers, and therefore could be required to be vaccinated. 

1/19/21
New Technology Could Charge Your EV as You Drive
The desire to own an electric vehicle has long been impeded by apprehensions about the life of the battery, but now several companies are testing technology that may one day allow EVs to charge while on the move, reports the Wall Street Journal. The process is known as "dynamic charging," and it involves under-road pads that wirelessly transmit electricity to receivers mounted underneath the EV. Some larger vehicles could charge via overhead wires like those used by trams.

1/14/21
New Jersey Switches To Honor System For Coronavirus Vaccine, And That's A Step In The Right Direction (Jeff Edelstein Column)
So here's the deal: Anyone can go get a coronavirus vaccine right now in New Jersey after Gov. Phil Murphy finally did an about-face on his slow and quasi-failing tiered rollout. If you read the news reports, you'll say, "No Jeff, that's not true. Only people 65 and older, or people with pre-existing conditions can get the shot." And while that's technically true, we have now gone to the honor system - just as a doctor I spoke with last week begged the state to do. "We are trusting the integrity of all of you to do the right thing in this regard and not, quote-unquote, jump the line," said Judith Persichilli, the commissioner of the state's health department, during Wednesday's press conference. "We know everyone is anxious but we're asking for your patience as we await a larger supply of the vaccine. We currently do not require documentation to prove eligibility, just you, just your most trustful part of you." Well, that's nice. Dumb, but nice, especally considering smokers and ex-smokers - some two million New Jerseyans - now qualify. 

1/13/21
N.J. Includes 2M Smokers In Huge Expansion Of Covid Vaccine Eligibility Starting Thursday
An estimated 2 million smokers in New Jersey are among those between the ages of 16 and 64 considered to have a high-risk health condition and may begin to receive a vaccination for the coronavirus as soon as Thursday as part of a massive vaccine expansion, state health officials said Wednesday. "Smoking puts you at significant risk for an adverse result from COVID-19 and there are 2 million smokers in New Jersey who fit into these categories," state Department of Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said.

 

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  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.
 
 

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