April 02, 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! 

USDOL CONTINUES TO STRIKE
MOTOR VEHICLE RECORDING DEVICE DATA
COST OF LIVING INCREASE ON WORKER COMP BENEFITS?
NEW EFFORTS TO INCREASE AGE TO PURCHASE TOBACCO
LOTTERY REVENUES OFF TARGET, CONCERNS ABOUT INTERNET LOTTERY
DECLINE IN GASOLINE DEMAND
HAPPY EASTER AND PASSOVER

You may remember that in December 2010 the United States Department of Labor (DOL) put a task force in place in NJ to root out the culture of improper payroll practices. Last Thursday, I was in Trenton when I got an email on my phone from the office, informing me that we had received a call from the US DOL to alert me that they were releasing a statement to the news media with more results from the task force's investigation. You may recall the numerous warnings, and even several seminars, that we conducted in 2011 in order to properly educate you about how to pay your employees without running afoul of USDOL. We even created a column entitled “Ask USDOL” in the quarterly On the Road newsletter to have your real life questions/concerns answered without revealing your identity.  The column has proven highly successful.
 
However, USDOL has never gone away. Though they acknowledge improved compliance at NJ gas stations, they know that they are far from finishing the task. As of today, the task force remains in NJ and will continue to operate. Their recent press release claims to have uncovered over $5 million in back wages for employees that were not paid overtime or were not paid minimum wage.  They are also finding a significant number of employees working “off the books,” which creates a whole other problem.
 
From Trenton, I scrambled and worked with Jacy to issue a press release of our own in order to properly respond. You can read the USDOL press release HERE and you can read my reply HERE.  I am thinking that it may be time to conduct more seminars with USDOL and also introduce you to several of our MBP law firms who handle employment matters.  Stay tuned!
 
As you all know, cars today come equipped with recording devices and "little black boxes" in their onboard computers. There has always been controversy about who owns, and can access, the data. Insurance companies may find it helpful in determining if people are good drivers... do they speed, do they make sudden stops? Police may want the data to help determine culpability in motor vehicle accidents. And you already know that car manufacturers access that information telematically to communicate with the vehicle owner to prompt them to bring the car in for service. They can tell the customer if the brake system is at risk of failing, if the charging system is not functioning properly, and have a whole variety of vehicle maintenance issues at their disposal that can direct the motorist to the nearest dealership. 
 
Although repair shop owners don't have any major concerns with vehicle info. being used by insurance companies and law enforcement agencies, there are implications with regard to the Right to Repair legislation that we're trying to pass, and how YOU can access that information so that the customer can be prompted by YOU when service is required on the vehicle. There is a bill to address this issue which has passed both the Assembly and the Senate and is sitting on the Governor's desk, awaiting his signature. This legislation basically says that the information on the recording device is owned by the person who owns the car.  That means, effectively, that if the vehicle owner wants the info transmitted to YOU and not the car manufacturer or the car dealer, then you should have access to it as well. This would help you communicate with your customers in the same way that dealers and manufacturers do, to remind them that scheduled maintenance is required or to alert them that the car may need to come in for service. We will keep you updated if the Governor signs the bill, and I am looking to develop a program that may assist you in this effort. Currently there are vendors who can provide this service.
 
Another piece of legislation making its way through Trenton is a bill which would mandate that Workers Compensation Insurance companies must increase their payments, each year, to people who have already been awarded compensation for their injuries, based on the cost of living. This means that someone injured years ago, who settled or won their lawsuit and is receiving payments, will now be entitled to receive increasing amounts every year, based on the cost of living. Who will pay for that? It'll undoubtedly be covered by insurance companies, who will then charge higher premiums to cover their increased costs. All businesses will be affected by this. NJGCA has joined a coalition of like-minded business organizations and collectively we have mounted a monumental effort to block this legislation. Last week, the bill was scheduled to be voted on by the General Assembly, which would be the last step before going to the Governor.  After sending THIS letter to all 80 Assembly members, the vote was postponed and the bill was pulled from the board. Does this mean that the bill is dead? No, but we have at least thrown a roadblock in front of it.  We will continue our efforts to kill this legislation, and we will keep you informed every step of the way.
 
Now, I have two updates for my c-store owners! It seems that I am constantly informing you of efforts around the state to increase the age to purchase tobacco to 21. Although we have successfully stopped statewide legislation from passing in Trenton (so far), local governments continue to chip away by passing their own laws. As I warned you about last month, Princeton's board of health has introduced an ordinance that would ban the sale of tobacco products to customers under the age of 21. Princeton would be the fifth town in NJ to adopt such a law, which is higher than the state requirement of 19.  Retailers who violate the ordinance would face a penalty of $250 for the first offense, $500 for the second and $1,000 for the third and subsequent violations. The ordinance comes up for public hearing and adoption April 21. According to a Princeton Board of Health Member, there are 18 locations in Princeton where cigarettes are sold and even more where tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes can be purchased. IF YOU OWN OR OPERATE ONE OF THESE 18 LOCATIONS, AND THIS ORDINANCE WOULD IMPACT YOUR BUSINESS, PLEASE CONTACT NJGCA SO THAT WE CAN ORGANIZE AN EFFORT TO FIGHT THIS PROPOSAL. I plan to attend the council meeting and speak on your behalf. I would like small business owners to join me, too.
 
Convenience store owners should also be interested (and concerned) to hear that lottery revenues this fiscal year are on track to fall significantly short of projections.  As a result, my instincts are telling me to prepare for a renewed interest in internet lottery sales. More than one person "in the know" in Trenton has hinted at this, but I don't need them to confirm what I already know -- the desperation for revenues in both the Governor's office and the Legislature will put renewed pressure on the efforts to allow lottery to be sold over the Internet. For now, this is nothing more than some whispers in my ear and my gut instinct, but my antennae are tuned in, and I will keep you updated as soon as I know something.
 
Finally, I don't know how many times over the past year I have used the term "flat at best" when describing demand for gasoline in the marketplace. While I'm not going to get into an analysis of the direction that prices are going right now, we all know that one of the market forces that puts downward pressure on prices is lack of demand. I must continue to warn you that if these trends continue, which I predict they will, you will all be fighting each other for pieces of a smaller and smaller pie. There are many reasons for this.. yes, a change in driving habits is one of them, but mostly, it is more vehicles on the road today that get better gas mileage than they did a few years ago. If you are fighting for a piece of a smaller pie, you might think that you have to lower your price in order to maintain the piece of the market that you already had. This is false. Even if you lower your price, you will still have a smaller piece of the pie, and make even less money with a smaller margin.  I would like to call your attention to this article, which supports what I have been saying, and was sent to me by several informed and active members.
 
Now, I hope you all have a Happy Easter and Happy Passover, and get to enjoy some time with your families! 

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)

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!

SERVICE STATION VENDING EQUIPMENT:

SERVICE TECH

For more information, and to submit a resume and cover letter, please email billyjr@airusa1.com.


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

04/01/2015:
Company Christie hired to run NJ lottery misses revenue goal by $64M
When Christie privatized NJ's lottery two years ago he said its new overseers would "modernize and maximize" the games. Instead, a lottery once ranked among the nation's top performers is now lagging for the 2nd straight year, trailing its state income targets by $64 million seven months into the current fiscal year. Meanwhile, the company running it has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to hire lobbyists and a public relations firm with close ties to the governor. NJ lawmakers anticipated receiving nearly $1.04 billion in income from the lottery this year, a number reduced to just $955 million in a revised budget released this month. Having collected an estimated $510 million seven months into this fiscal year, the lottery is not on track to meet even its lowered expectations.
 
03/31/2015:
Princeton introduces ordinance raising age requirement for tobacco sales to 21 years old
Princeton's board of health introduced an ordinance last week that would ban the sale of tobacco products to customers under the age of 21. The town would be the fifth in NJ to adopt such a law, which is higher than the state requirement of 19. There are 18 locations in Princeton where cigarettes are sold and even more where tobacco products like e-cigs can be purchased. The board had been researching for months what such a law would look like in Princeton. Retailers who violate the ordinance would face a penalty of $250 for the first offense, $500 for the second and $1,000 for the third and subsequent violations. The ordinance comes up for public hearing and adoption April 21.
 
03/31/2015:
NJ Senate Dems on budget committee focus on transportation funding
Democrats on the Senate’s budget committee challenged Governor Christie’s public comments that the state’s TTF is not in a crisis, saying Tuesday that he is underfunding the program and not spending the $1.6 billion a year on roads and bridges as he has said. During a hearing on the governor’s proposed $33.8 billion budget Tuesday, those senators focused on how a $241 million loan repayment to the state from NJ Transit factors into the accounting of transportation spending. They questioned whether that figure represents spending on roads, bridges and mass transit, or if it is “just a number,” said the budget committee chairman, Paul Sarlo, D-Wood-Ridge. And with an $80 million budget hole that has NJ Transit weighing fare increases, Sarlo did not rule out the possibility that commuters could be the ones paying to help sustain the trust fund through 2016. State Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff disagreed and said the trust fund is a $1.6 billion capital spending program.
 
03/30/2015:
Not so fast! Gas prices could rise, despite predictions of cheap fuel
Remember the disclaimers in car commercials that "your mileage may vary"? Forecasting oil prices comes with the same caution, especially when it comes to events in the volatile Middle Eastern oil producing countries. This past week fighting and unrest in Yemen sent oil prices up 4% on Thursday, to over $55 a barrel, the NY Times reported. By Friday, the price of a barrel of crude opened at $51.01 and slid back down to $48.32 a barrel. On the street, that barely tickled the pump price. But will the price stay down this week? GasBuddy.com counted 15 stations with under $2 a gallon gas on Friday, all ranging between $1.91 and $1.93 a gallon. The state average price was $2.15 a gallon, but cheaper prices could be had such as regular for $2.02 a gallon. There is another wild card that could affect gas prices, the change over from winter to spring-summer blend. Passing through the price change for the spring-summer blend will likely happen over the course of two weeks, said the Federal Energy Administration.
 
03/27/2015:
Prieto: GOP lacks 'political will' to raise N.J. gas tax
Assembly Speaker Vinnie Prieto said that he doesn't think Republicans have the "political will" to raise taxes to replenish New Jersey's near-depleted fund for transportation projects. For months Prieto and the rest of the Legislature's Democratic leadership have been pushing for a plan to raise revenue for the Transportation Trust Fund, which they had warned would run out of money July 1. "It looks like [Republicans] are heading in a different direction, again kicking the can down the road," Prieto told reporters Thursday. All 80 seats in the Assembly are up for election in November, and raising taxes is hardly a popular move. Democrats control the chamber, 48-32. "The speaker could post his bill and pass it without one Republican vote," said Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick (R., Union). "So why not pass a bill and send it to the governor's desk?" He added, "If you're going to raise taxes, then show the public you also have the intestinal fortitude to lower other taxes," such as the inheritance tax.

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.