Gov. Murphy Calls for Ban On New Gas Cars Starting In 2035 NJGCA Weighs in on Federal Issues Attorney General Issues Fines for Payment Practices Right to Repair Legislation Re-Introduced in Congress New Webinar: Introducing New MBP PriceEasy! Gov. Murphy Calls for Ban On New Gas Cars Starting In 2035 On Wednesday, Gov. Murphy gave a major address to detail some dramatic new policies designed to lower the state’s carbon emissions. Of most immediate concern to all NJGCA members are calls for the DEP to begin a process that will ultimately end with the adoption of rules that would require all new passenger cars and light duty trucks be zero emissions. These vehicles will not use any gasoline or diesel fuel at all (that means no hybrid vehicles either). NJGCA believes that while the State is free to provide incentives to help grow the EV market if it wants, we do oppose an attempt to take away customer freedom by preventing them from buying a gas car, no matter their desire or their circumstances. Currently only about 5% of new vehicle sales are EVs. If EVs are that great, then there should be no need for a government prohibition on gas powered cars, simply let the market speak for itself and let motorists decide what vehicle makes the most sense for their lives. It’s no coincidence that this rule would not take effect for about a decade after the governor is no longer in office. That of course leaves plenty of time for a future governor to amend or repeal these laws should the consumer market never develop, or should the massive increase in demand for battery parts and clean electricity generation not develop (which seems highly likely). California was the first state to pass a similar rule, and a few other states on the west coast and northeast have already passed similar rules or plan to in the near future. Gov. Murphy had already made this a “goal” in 2019, now he is moving to put it into law. While we oppose this plan outright, at the least it should be structured to allow for hybrid vehicles. We will also seek to ensure that the definition of “zero emission vehicles” includes not just battery electric vehicles, but also hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. These vehicles can’t be refilled at a customers’ home, but they can pull into a retail station and in about five minutes load up with enough fuel to travel over 400 miles for a price that would be around what gasoline is. Also note that a gas-powered car purchased today will likely stay on the roads for 12-15 years, meaning the true sunset for gas vehicles (if this plan survives) is closer to 2050. You can read the Governor’s statement HEREand see that other business groups are already coming out against this plan HERE. NJGCA Weighs in on Federal Issues Last week we sent out two letters commenting on some federal issues that we are working on with some national groups. One of those issues opposes ongoing tariffs on aluminum that were put in place a few years ago. These tariffs have increased the cost of anything made with aluminum, including auto parts. This of course, in turn raises the cost for repair shops to buy auto parts and the cost of the repair itself to the consumer. It also contributes to ongoing parts shortages. You can read the letter we sent to Senators Menendez and Booker to repeal these tariffs HERE. NJGCA also submitted comments to the EPA having to do with a complex regulatory scheme called the Renewable Fuels Standard which tries to force refineries to use more biofuels. In practice what’s been happening is independent refiners must either blend renewables into the fuels that they produce or purchase compliance credits known as Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs). The costs of these RINs are so high, that many small and medium sized refineries especially in the northeast have had trouble paying these high fees, causing them to raise prices and potentially even close completely. This is a big problem for retailers in the northeast since it will mean higher wholesale prices and greater risk of supply disruption for gasoline and diesel. The northeast also largely lacks the infrastructure necessary to blend biofuels, forcing refineries to turn to RINs. The last thing we want is to turn into California, which has also has a lack of refineries and infrastructure. Because of the lack of capacity, motorists pay as much as a dollar more a gallon in cost even before taxes at the pump. Read the letter we sent to the EPA HERE, and you can read the statement we sent to the press this morning HERE. Attorney General Issues Fines for Payment Practices We came across a story this week about the Ferris wheel in the American Dream mall (and other businesses throughout the state) being fined for not accepting cash at their businesses. The state Attorney General announced fines against businesses for violations of state law regarding how they accept payment. You probably don’t turn away anyone offering to pay cash, but the AG also issued some fines against some small businesses who were charging higher prices for credit card transactions without properly disclosing surcharges. These businesses were fined $500 each. This is why it’s important that if you do want to adopt the legal practice of charging credit card surcharges that it’s properly disclosed. The best way to ensure that everything is being reported properly is to work with a good credit card processing company, like our MBP Lou Puglisi at Card Connect. He is one of our top MBPs according to our biannual MBP survey, and a lot of people have been very satisfied with both price and customer service. Lou can be reached at 609-957-1784 or LPuglisi@cardconnectpartners.com. Right to Repair Legislation Re-Introduced in Congress You should have gotten an action alert from us this week to write to your representatives on federal right to repair legislation that was introduced in Congress by a bipartisan group of Congressmen. The REPAIR Act would guarantee motorists the ability to get their vehicles (including commercial trucks) repaired at independent repair shops. This bill would ensure that manufacturers must provide the vehicle owner (and their chosen repairer) all the data, tools, and equipment necessary to repair a vehicle at a fair price, including the telematics information. Car manufacturers are totally opposed, as they are increasingly using wireless telematics systems to evade existing Right to Repair agreements and force motorists to go to dealers to have their cars fixed and maintained. Congress will only take any action on this if they hear from small business owners. If you haven’t already done so, please take a minute to either use our already completed letter template or create your own letter to your representative, it only takes a minute. Feel free to share online as well once you’ve done the alert yourself, the more they hear from the better, and this is an important issue for consumers as well. Webinar On Tuesday, February 21st at 12PM, NJGCA will be hosting a free webinar with PriceEasy to introduce our members to our newest MBP. PriceEasy™ is a fuel pricing software solution for gas station owners who want to stay ahead of their competitors. They provide the most accurate competitors’ fuel pricing with 98% coverage of all gas stations in the US. PriceEasy™ is an all-inclusive software which helps fuel retailers to identify key opportunities in their market. Their software not only identifies the key competitors but also provides you with a suggested fuel price to maximize your fuel sales. They offer highly valuable business insights including fuel to non-fuel AI modeling to show you how your fuel prices affect your c-store sales. Their software company includes 4 billion external data sets to help you determine your consumer price elasticity; factoring in the weather, traffic, time of the day, day of the week, etc. and can integrate with your POS. Simply sign up for a subscription and add your site locations. Their software will map for you your site location and the top competitors in your market showing you who you are taking business from and who is taking business from you, and why? They are the leading fuel pricing solution trusted by supermajors to help with price predictability. With their software, you can manage your fuel pricing and push pricing updates directly to your POS, pump, and digital signboard. PriceEasy™ is easily the best fuel pricing software available. Join the webinar to find out how this low-cost subscription could make running your station a lot easier. Click here to register for the webinar! Be Well- Your Association Staff |
