State and regional associations have an important role in the c-store ecosystem—and each state has a unique set of circumstances. With small staffs and large purviews, the state leaders balance evergreen issues like employment law and environmental regulations with sudden, drop-everything-now battles at the local level.

Here’s a look at three leading associations.

1. City-by-City Battles in New England

Peter Brennan Esq., the executive director of the New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association (NECSEMA), has six state capitals to keep an eye on. “There’s never a dull moment,” he said.

In addition to statewide legislation, New England municipalities often pass local regulations. A vivid example is when Providence, Rhode Island, moved to ban all new-build gas stations. Although a version of the bill passed in October, NECSEMA advocacy led to a compromise that allows new stations via a special-use permit.

Another example: Several cities and towns in Massachusetts have debated or enacted generational tobacco bans, in which the minimum age to legally buy tobacco increases every year. Advocates of this policy have already announced that they plan to pursue a statewide bill in the next Massachusetts legislative session to ban all nicotine products for people born after a certain date.

“Some of the hardest fights we face are at the local level, because you’re not going to have the resources. It’s hard to get the word out. Generally, the municipalities that are taking action don’t want their citizens to know that they’re taking it,” Brennan said. “It’s up to us to find out about, say, a board of health hearing, educate the citizens, do the outreach, get the word out, get people there and testify.”

In addition to Brennan, NECSEMA has two other full-time staffers and over a dozen lobbyists and consultants throughout the region. NACS, the Energy Marketers of America (EMA) and the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) are important partners.

Brennan forecasts a busy next few years for NECSEMA. “In the previous Trump administration, [Democratic-led] state legislatures tended to double down, from our perspective, on some very bad progressive ideas because they wanted to ‘Trump-proof’ their state. In Massachusetts, legislative leaders have already said that they’re going to ramp up their efforts, especially on environmental policies favored by progressive think tanks,” he said, predicting that other New England states will do the same.

Another area of concern is nicotine pouches. “There’s now a movement with certain health inspectors and tobacco control people who want to relegate these pouches to adult-only stores, and that’s whether that town has an adult-only store. So essentially, they want to ban nicotine pouches,” Brennan said.

Whether it’s pouches or generational tobacco bans, “Advocates [get] 45 minutes to talk. I get two minutes,” Brennan said. His two-minute message is simple. “Well, if you don’t want people to smoke cigarettes, then they might want an alternative. If you ban that alternative, then they’re probably going to stick with what they have, and they’re just going to go to the next town over, go across the state lines or go to the illicit market.”

Despite the whack-a-mole nature of the job, NECSEMA has recently earned some major statewide wins, including helping stop an EV mandate in Connecticut and tobacco flavor bans in Vermont and Maine. Massachusetts banned flavored tobacco, including menthol cigarettes, in 2020. The data from that ban arms Brennan when he opposes the idea in other states.

“Thanks to the tax stamps, you can trace every pack of menthols that used to be sold in Massachusetts, and they’re now being sold in New Hampshire, Rhode Island or some other state,” Brennan said. “The flavor ban has not significantly altered cigarette smoking, and 21+ individuals are still smoking menthols, too. That’s their cigarette of choice. There’s a thriving illicit market. When advocates talk about kids using flavored vapes … this is all illicit and driven by prohibition in regulated channels. I shudder to think about what might be in these products, because they aren’t being sold in our stores and probably came from overseas.”

Working across the entire New England region, Brennan has learned to focus on what’s unique about each area. Even though there’s overlap, “What might work in Rhode Island is not going to work in Maine, and what might work in Vermont is not going to work in Massachusetts.”

“People have different values, as you might expect. Legislators have different values. I have found that no matter what state you go to, legislators tend to reflect their district—as they should.”

What’s universal, in his experience, is the value of advocacy. “I have found that every business owner that has been willing to testify against bad policy before a local board or a state committee has come across as very genuine. They live that life and they can answer the questions. Legislators are, with no exception, always happy to hear from local business owners, even if it’s about something that they don’t agree with.”

2. A Policy-Setting State Tips the Scales in Arizona

If you want to know what’s unique about Arizona’s fuel retailing environment, look at its neighbor. California’s 38 million residents and aggressive regulation create a wake that Arizona’s retailers have to navigate.

“California is working on a variety of regulations that are extremely concerning for our members because they will impact Arizona fuel supply and price,” said Amanda Gray, the executive director of the Arizona Petroleum Marketers Association (APMA). There are no refineries in the state of Arizona, and about 45% of Arizona’s fuel comes from California.

Top of mind for Arizona retailers are three developments in California:

• SBX 1-2, which passed in an emergency session in 2023. This law “has a variety of reporting requirements for marketers who buy product in California, even if it’s being sold in a different state. Additionally, the law asked the California Energy Commission (CEC) to impose what they’re calling a gross refining margin cap and penalty—basically setting a level at which they determine refiner profits to be excessive,” said Gray. She noted that the margin cap and penalties from SBX 1-2 are still being worked on and have yet to be finalized.
• ABX 2-1, signed into law in October 2024. This law creates a “mandate for minimum supply that refiners have to maintain in the state,” said Gray. Refiners then “have to get approval from the CEC for any planned maintenance and have a plan for how they’re going to make up for any product shortfalls. Those volumes haven’t been determined yet, so that’s important.”
• California Air Resources Board (CARB) restrictions. CARB took a vote in November that tightens restrictions around the gasoline that’s being sold in California in a move that will reduce emissions but increase gas prices. It’s hard for Arizonans to fight political battles in California, but APMA engages through workshops and submits comments. Earlier this year, the governors of Arizona and Nevada sent California Governor Gavin Newsom a joint letter expressing their concerns.

APMA is working to educate its members as well as Arizona lawmakers about how California policies impact the Arizona market. “It is pretty unusual for a state association to activate in opposition to another state’s policies, but in this circumstance, the APMA board has decided to do just that,” said Gray.

Even if it has limited sway next door, APMA is very effective within its state. The group scored a huge win in 2015 when it “worked on a significant revitalization of the Underground Storage Tank Revolving Fund (UST RF) program within our state.”

The bill that passed “has a number of components that are very successful,” Gray said. The Arizona UST RF reimburses environmental response costs for insurance denials and for orphan sites. One component of UST RF, known as Tank Site Improvement Program (TSIP), has paid for nearly $50 million in tank pulls, environmental assessments and system upgrades since 2015. “This is a proactive part of the program that seeks to remove old tanks and upgrade systems to current regulatory standards before a catastrophic release,” according to Gray.

UST RF also covers the cost of state and federally required operator training for site owners and operators. The program is funded through a penny-per-gallon UST throughput fee.

Another win came in November when Proposition 312 passed. The legislation, which APMA and its members helped craft and strongly supported, allows business owners to get a tax refund to offset costs incurred from public nuisance and loitering incidents. “Ideally, retailers will not need to seek a refund,” said Gray. Instead, APMA members would like city governments to be more responsive, which would allow retailers to report a problem and have a reasonable expectation of government action. “This is a first-in-the-nation approach to hopefully get cities to prioritize addressing property owners’ concerns,” Gray said.

For individual operators, Gray said the first step to get engaged is to “introduce yourself and your company to the lawmakers where you live and where your stores are located. It can be intimidating or uncomfortable for business owners to step into this advocacy space, but it’s really critical that we stand together, especially in these evolving and challenging times,” Gray said. “Your state association’s primary purpose is working to further the cause of its members, and so being engaged is an investment of time and resources in your own success.”

3. Arkansas Associations Are Stronger Together

Steve Goode wears many hats. He operates two grocery stores, raises cattle, runs a four-person lobbying firm in Little Rock, Arkansas, and, through his firm, leads two associations: the Arkansas Grocers and Retail Merchants Association and the Arkansas Oil Marketers Association. In the past he’s owned convenience stores, been an elected official and served in the cabinet of the state of Arkansas, where tobacco control was among his responsibilities.

Goode was a member of the grocers’ association in 2020 when the previous executive director left. Instead of hiring a new full-time employee, the group decided to change its model and become a client of Goode’s lobbying firm. The state’s oil marketers followed suit.

We joke with our members, if you don’t know your state senator or state representative today, there’s going to be a test. The next time we have a meeting, you better be able to know both. It’s just very important to know your legislators.” —Steve Goode, Arkansas Oil Marketers

“We think it’s a good model going forward, especially for a small state like Arkansas,” Goode said. When it comes to representing both grocers and fuel marketers, the two groups are aligned on “99% of the issues,” Goode said.

“We told both groups that there is really only one issue that you won’t be in lockstep on, and that’s hot food on SNAP. And that won’t be decided at the state level. That will be decided at the federal level,” Goode said. His firm, as a consequence of representing both groups, doesn’t lobby federally on that issue. But the few areas where representing both grocers and fuel marketers might create conflict are outweighed by the strength-in-numbers benefit of representing both groups.

“It’s been pretty nice to be able to put together cohesive packages for when we go talk to a legislator. I can say, ‘I’m here on behalf of the retailers and the oil marketers.’ They’re still separate groups, but when you put the firepower together, we’re the largest employer in the state between the two associations. We will contribute more to the state’s economy than anything other than agriculture, probably. We have some real firepower when we go talk to members at the statehouse about issues,” Goode said.

For the coming year, Goode has two major priorities. The first is advocating for a bill similar to one that passed in Tennessee modifying the state trust fund for underground storage tanks. “The federal law is that you have to report in 24 hours. We get that. We’re not trying to change federal law. But to be eligible for the trust fund, it also has to be 24 hours.”

If a consultant tells an assistant manager about a problem, and then one minute later that same assistant manager gets a call that his kid fell off a piece of playground equipment and broke his arm, and as a result, reporting is delayed by a day … well, as Goode said, “Life happens. The proposed bill penalizes late reporting by increasing the deductible but doesn’t remove eligibility entirely if reporting doesn’t happen in that narrow window.”

The second priority is to fight against the state’s one-of-a-kind soft drink tax, which levies a charge of $1.26 per gallon of syrup or 20.6 cents per gallon of bottled or canned soft drinks. “That’s real money to our members, especially our small, mom-and-pop, independent members,” Goode said. On this issue, “You’ll see the firepower of larger retailers and c-stores coming together, because it affects both of them.”

Goode doesn’t currently have to worry about any statewide industry-rattling regulation—a situation he knows he’s fortunate to be in. “We’re blessed in Arkansas,” he said. “We’re a very pro-business state. Things that are going to harm business typically don’t get a lot of traction here.”