Clean fuel mandates will further increase Illinois gas prices, opponents
say
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[March 15, 2024]
By Kevin Bessler | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Proposed legislation that directs two Illinois
agencies to assign state-mandated "deficits" to gasoline is being
criticized by an industry group, which argues the measure would further
increase the price of a gallon of gas.
Senate Bill 1556 from state Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, would mandate
two state regulators, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and
the Illinois Pollution Control Board, to establish a “clean
transportation standard” and reduce the use of carbon-based fuels by
Illinois drivers on the state's roads.
The two agencies would assign state-mandated “deficits” to fossil fuels
like gasoline and diesel.
The Illinois Fuel and Retail Association, on behalf of more than 4,000
gas stations, convenience stores and truck stops across Illinois who
serve millions of customers, opposes the proposal.
“Having the No. 1 gas tax in the nation, Illinois, my members and
certainly motorists here can’t afford it,” IFRA CEO Josh Sharp said.
Sharp notes that Illinois doubled the gas tax in 2019 and has raised it
every year since then. As a result, Illinois topped California for the
highest total taxes on gasoline in the country last year. In addition to
more than doubling the state's gas tax, which now stands at 39.2 cents
per gallon, Illinois assesses its 6.25% sales tax on top of every dollar
spent on gasoline, including the gas tax.
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State taxes and fees on motor gasoline (as of Jan. 1, 2023),
according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. - EIA.gov
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/May/02/images/ads/current/guzzardo_lda022609.png)
The U.S. Energy Information Administration shows as of Jan. 1, 2023,
Illinois had the highest combined taxes in the country at 67.4 cents per
gallon.
Sharp said similar clean transportation standards, or low-carbon fuel
standards, have been a disaster for fuel consumers in other states.
“Only three states have such a policy right now, Oregon, Washington and
California,” Sharp said. “Two out of those three states openly admit
that this policy increases the cost of gasoline. We’re opposed to that.”
According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of gas in Illinois is
$3.70, by far the highest in the Midwest. In neighboring Missouri, a
gallon of gas averages $3.19, and in Kentucky, it is $3.11.
“Illinois cannot control geopolitical strife, OPEC export rules,
economic pressures or other global policies and factors that largely
drive the costs we pay at the pump,” Sharp said. “But we can do our part
by rejecting policies out of Springfield that artificially and
needlessly cause consumers more pain every time they fill up." |