Senate Version of Florida Bill to Eliminate Ethanol Requirement in Gasoline Approved by Committee; Moves to Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee

The Senate version of legislation (S.B. 320) to repeal the requirement that all gasoline offered for sale in the state contain a percentage of ethanol was approved by the Senate Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities Committee on a 7-0 vote. The bill now moves to the Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee for consideration. The Regulatory Affairs Committee recently approved the House version of the bill (H.B. 4001), which has been sent to the floor of the Florida House of Representatives for a vote by all members. Currently, the Florida Renewable Fuels Standard requires that all gasoline sold or offered for sale by a terminal supplier, importer, blender or wholesaler in Florida contain 9-10 percent ethanol, or other alternative fuel, by volume.

Please Contact All Members of the Senate Environmental Preservation and ConservationCommittee (List Below) Immediately to Request Support for S.B. 320

S.B. 320 recognizes that ethanol increases water formation which can then corrode metals, plastics and rubber, especially over a period of time when the vehicle is not used. Current high performance specialty parts along with pre-model year 2001 cars and parts may be most susceptible to corrosion.
S.B. 320 recognizes that the life span of vehicles and equipment can be dramatically reduced with the wrong fuel and that owners could be confronted with break downs. Anti-corrosion additives are available for each purchase of gasoline but can become expensive, burdensome and require consumer education.
S.B. 320 recognizes that while the current ethanol mandate does not apply to fuel used in collector vehicles, off-road vehicles, motorcycles or small engines, there has been an inability to obtain unblended gasoline for engines that may be damaged by ethanol.

DON’T DELAY! Please contact all members of the Senate Environmental Preservation and ConservationCommittee to request support for S.B. 320. Please e-mail a copy of your letter to Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org. Also, please forward this Alert to your fellow car enthusiasts. Urge them to join the SAN and help defend the hobby! Thank you for your assistance.