Legislation
Running on corn
Alternative fuels continue to have an effect on the old-car hobby. Many folks are already worried about the effects that ethanol-blended gas will have on elderly gas lines and seals, and legislation designed to promote the use of E85 and other ethanol formulations threatens to make it harder to find unblended gasoline.
The Iowa Senate Sub-Committee On Agriculture is currently examining Senate File 2184, which is an extensive package of incentives and penalties designed to promote the corn-derived hydrocarbon in the corn-producing state. SF2184 includes a clause that requires gas stations to make a certain minimum threshold of their sales ethanol blended fuels. If they fail to do so, they are prohibited from advertising for sale, selling or dispensing "gasoline other than ethanol blended gasoline in this state," and assessed "10 cents for each one gallon of ethanol required to meet the threshold."
But there's a loophole: If the gasoline is used to operate aircraft, off-road only race cars, antique vehicles, snowmobiles, ATVs, boats or small engines, then the dealer is allowed to use a single pump to dispense it.
If we're reading the complicated statute correctly, (you can wade through 20 plus pages of it yourself by looking up SF2184 at www.legis.state.ia.us/aspx/Cool-ICE/DisplayBills.htm), it sounds like unintentional encouragement for gas stations trying to attract the old-car crowd to their pumps. If it passes as written, it looks to us as though you can expect Iowa to become a very cruise-in and tour-friendly place.
- By David B. Traver Adolphus