New Jersey’s Lieutenant Governor Shelia Oliver passed away on Tuesday, August 2nd at the age of 71. She was the first Black woman to hold statewide elected office in New Jersey and was in the State Legislature for 15 years before being elected on Governor Murphy’s ticket in 2017. In 2010, she became the first Black woman to lead the state General Assembly. NJGCA had worked with her during the four years she was Speaker of Assembly from 2010-2014, and we always found her to be very accessible. The governor must now select a new lieutenant governor by September 15th. It’s his decision entirely who to pick, and that person would serve through January 2026. If Governor Murphy were to leave office early, his pick would become the new governor.
Mail Fraud Notice
Those of you who use Association Member Trust (AMT) for their health care, you may have received a letter regarding checks being made to AMT were recently targeted by a scam in which checks were stolen from the mail at the post office distribution center, the payee name was then altered, allowing the fraudster to cash the checks for themselves. If you’re an AMT member, pay close attention to make sure your recent payment was in fact cashed by AMT and not someone else. Law enforcement has already been informed and is investigating. We have written about several different scams that are going on that could affect our members, and apparently this type of fraud is becoming more common. Pay attention to all checks you mail to make sure they are cashed by the intended recipient and not someone else, and that your own customers don’t get targeted if they’re mailing checks to you.
This is also a good time to remind our members that you can pay your NJGCA dues automatically with a credit card and skip writing and mailing checks entirely, avoiding this kind of fraud. Email Greg@njgca.org to get set up with automatic payments.
Minimum Wage
South Jersey Congressman Donald Norcross (D) last week introduced a bill calling for an increase in the federal minimum wage that would gradually raise it to $17 an hour by 2028. He’s not alone, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, who has already announced he will run to succeed Phil Murphy, has also said the minimum wage should be higher than $15. Back in May, we learned that New York’s minimum wage will gradually increase through 2026 to $17 per hour in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County and $16 per hour for the remainder of the state. Advocates had originally demanded a $23 minimum wage. When the $15 minimum wage passed in New Jersey, a lot of people thought that would be the end of the battle, especially since the law already accounts for automatic annual inflation adjustments. Though now it’s becoming clear that this thought is gaining momentum inside and outside the state, and will be something we will continuously be fighting for our members on.
MBP Spotlight: Mongo’s Auto Repair
Anthony Mongo started his business as a Mobil franchise gas station with the help of his father on September 15th, 1978. After 11 years in the gas business, he decided to open up a repair shop. He rented that business for seven years, and was then able to go on to open his own business as it is today. Anthony’s business principles that have kept them going for the last 50 years include surrounding yourself with good employees that you invest in through their education, stay on top of your money and never give up!
All classes held at NJGCA HQ -- 615 Hope Road, Building 2, 1st Floor, Eatontown, NJ 07724
ASE Training Course - Reach Out Today!
Are you (or an employee) getting ready to take your A6, A8, or L1 in preparation to recertifying your Emission Repair Technician (ERT) credentials through the State's Emission Technician Education Program (ETEP)?
We can help --- but we need to hear from you, first! NJGCA wants to hear from students interested in our ASE-prep training program, so we can gauge demand and schedule our next session series.
As you know, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has always maintained a "dual-track" system to allow technicians to earn their Emission Repair Technician (ERT) credentials through New Jersey's Emission Technician Education Program (ETEP). In doing so, technicians were allowed to certify as ERTs through either an ASE-test track or an ETEP-educational class track. Starting on January 1, 2020, NJDEP amended the ETEP criteria, and the ETEP-educational class track was abolished.
Today, only the ASE-test track remains, and all ERTs must certify or re-certify their credentials though ASE to remain in the Program.
NJGCA has recently offered an ASE-prep class to help you get ready for the A6, A8, and L1. In doing so, students were welcome to participate in a ten-session preparatory class that covered material for all three ASE exams. We also had a handful of students who joined us only for the A8 or L1 sections.
Once completed, students took their ASE exams with a local ASE-approved test proctor (NJGCA can train you to prepare for the ASE exams, but are not permitted to offer the actual exam - students must make these arrangements individually themselves).
Building on that success, we are now seeking student participation in our next training series session. To make arrangements and organize a session, we need to hear from you!
“We’re looking at the range, and you literally see the number decrease in front of your eyes,” he said of his dashboard range meter. Ponsin contacted Tesla and booked a service appointment in California. He later received two text messages, telling him that “remote diagnostics” had determined his battery was fine, and then: “We would like to cancel your visit.” What Ponsin didn’t know was that Tesla employees had been instructed to thwart any customers complaining about poor driving range from bringing their vehicles in for service. Last summer, the company quietly created a “Diversion Team” in Las Vegas to cancel as many range-related appointments as possible.The Austin, Texas-based EV maker deployed the team because its service centers were inundated with appointments from owners who had expected better performance based on the company’s advertised estimates and the projections displayed by the in-dash range meters of the cars themselves, according to several people familiar with the matter.
In late 1989, an economic commentary newsletter from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland asked the question that was on everyone’s mind after a series of Federal Reserve rate increases: “How Soft a Landing?” Analysts were pretty sure growth was going to cool gently and without a painful downturn — the question was how gently. In late 2000, a column in The New York Times was titled “Making a Soft Landing Even Softer.” And in late 2007, forecasters at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas concluded that the United States should manage to make it through the subprime mortgage crisis without a downturn. Within weeks or months of all three declarations, the economy had plunged into recession. Unemployment shot up. Businesses closed. Growth contracted. It is a point of historical caution that is relevant today, when soft-landing optimism is, again, surging.
The Biden administration proposed new fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks which it said would save Americans hundreds of dollars at the gas pump — but will also drive car prices higher. The new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards — unveiled Friday by the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — requires passenger cars and light trucks to improve fuel efficiency 2% and 4%, respectively, beginning in 2027. Under the rules, pickup trucks and work vans must boost fuel efficiency 10% every year starting in 2030. By 2032, the agency said average U.S. fleet fuel economy could reach 58 miles per gallon. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the estimated average fuel economy for model year 2022 cars was 26.4 miles per gallon, meaning the proposed standards Friday would mandate automakers more than double fuel efficiency in less than a decade or face substantial penalties.
Gov. Tina Kotek will allow a bill allowing self-serve gasoline across Oregon to become law, ending a 72-year ban on most drivers pumping their own gas. Announcing a slate of potential vetoes Friday, as required by the Oregon Constitution, Kotek did not include House Bill 2426, which will permit Oregon gas stations to open up to half of their pumps for self-serve gas. The law will still require gas stations to staff at least half their pumps for people who can’t, or don’t want to, pump their own gas.
Anderson Economic Group (AEG) has released fueling cost estimates for comparable internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and electric vehicles (EV) in the first half of 2023. AEG followed the methodology it developed for fueling cost studies that began in 2021. For 2023, AEG has updated gasoline and residential electricity prices, commercial charging prices, tax rates levied on fuel and EVs, fuel economy for popular models in each segment, and the allowance for travel to commercial charging stations. The analysis considers four categories of real-world costs for both ICE and EVs, including energy, taxes, pump or charger, and deadhead miles.
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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