Des Moines, Iowa — The governor’s plan to require that most Iowa fueling stations offer 15 percent ethanol gas has cleared the Senate Ag Commtitee — without any debate.
Republican Senator Dan Zumbach of Ryan was the only person to speak about the bill before a subcommittee AND the Senate Ag Committee voted to advance it.
Last year, Governor Reynolds proposed an Iowa Renewable Fuels Standard, but the state’s fuel industry warned motorists would see higher pump prices as stations spent money upgrading equipment to handle higher blends of ethanol as well as biodiesel, which has a soybean-based additive. This year’s revised proposal includes waivers for smaller stations which can show they cannot afford to upgrade fuel handling systems to handle E-15, E-85 and B-20.
The bill easily cleared the Iowa House last week and its next stop in the Senate is the Ways and Means Committee.
