By Staff Reporter |
Republicans in the Arizona Senate are moving on legislation they believe will reduce gas prices.
A strike everything amendment to HB 2400 proposes to mitigate price spikes at the pump by filing an emergency waiver to increase Maricopa County’s fuel supply during emergencies.
Arizona policymakers anticipate prices to spike with pending supply constraints due to a forecasted California refinery closure in April. Federal environmental regulations require Valley drivers to use a more expensive and limited specialized fuel blend year-round, a requirement that expands to affect residents elsewhere in the state during the summer months.
Should the bill be enacted, the Department of Environmental Quality and the Arizona Department of Agriculture would submit an emergency fuel waiver to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) within 30 days.
State Sen. Shawnna Bolick (R-LD2) introduced the strike everything amendment. Bolick said the state does have recourse, but it’s up to executive leadership to allow for the remedy to occur.
“We see the warning signs. Refineries are shutting down, and if we don’t act now, prices will go up. HB 2400 will make sure Arizona can quickly access additional fuel when shortages hit, instead of waiting and hoping for relief,” said Bolick in a press release.
According to Stanford University’s Woods Institute for the Environment, the California refinery shutdowns were caused by multiple factors: depleting crude oil fields, declining in-state gasoline sales, consolidating oil infrastructure, and increasing availability of imported finished fossil fuel products.
A similar issue occurred in 2023. Gov. Katie Hobbs declined to file an emergency fuel waiver with the Biden administration despite a request from petroleum refiner HF Sinclair.
The company’s senior vice president, Jerry Miller, advised Hobbs in a letter of a critical supply shortage of several counties’ Cleaner Burning Gasoline (CBG), the special gasoline formulations required in certain parts of the state by the EPA under the Clean Air Act (CAA).
These formulation requirements are laid out in Arizona’s State Implementation Plan (SIP). The SIP establishes different CBG requirements depending on the season. CBG is required in Maricopa County and certain parts of Pinal and Yavapai counties year-round (called “Area A”). CBG requirement expands to include more of Pinal County during the summer months of May through September (called “Area C”).
As in 2023, it will mostly be Maricopa County drivers who will feel the brunt of forecasted supply constraints.
Senate lawmakers will also consider HB 2955, which would expand the state’s fuel options by modifying the state’s fuel standards for CBG in order to expand supply options.
Sen. Bolick shared that she and other Republican lawmakers have laid the groundwork with the Trump administration to ensure that the fuel standard updates and emergency fuel waiver would be processed immediately upon filing.
“We are coordinating with the Trump Administration so Arizona is ready to act the moment these bills are signed into law,” said Bolick. “This is about getting ahead of the problem and making sure families aren’t stuck paying the price for decisions made in other states.”
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