Governor M. Jodi Rell today (June 17) signed into law a bill that rolls back a planned
increase in the state gas tax and opens the door to more gasoline stations
offering customers a discount for making purchases with
cash.
Senate Bill 1000, "An Act Concerning Adjustments to Certain
Petroleum Products Taxes, Petroleum Franchise Agreements, Gasoline Discounts for
Consumers, Home Heating Oil, and Propane Gas Contract Deposits and the Fuel
Conservation Account," was passed during the special session last
week.
Before the session began, Gov.
Rell asked the Attorney General’s Office for clarification on whether the state
could affect franchise agreements prohibiting cash discounts. She then asked the
Legislature to both postpone as planned 0.5 percent increase in the Gross
Receipts Tax on motor fuels and to pass a bill nullifying cash discount bans in
the franchise agreements.
“Finally, the consumers of
Connecticut are getting a bit of a break from the bruising price of
gasoline!” Rell said. “I know how hard times are–I pay bills just
like any homeowner. And it is clear the state needed to take action, especially
since no real change appears forthcoming from policymakers in
Washington. So we have taken some important steps to help the
families and businesses that are being battered by this horrendous energy price
spiral.
“As I have said before, I can’t
control OPEC, and I can’t set the price of crude oil,” the governor said. “I
cannot single-handedly force Washington to make effective national energy policy–much as I
would like to. That doesn’t mean we can throw up our hands, however. In fact, it
means the state has to work harder than ever to provide what relief we can, and
that is what this legislation will do.”
Also today, Gov. Rell sent a
letter to each of the roughly
1,200 gasoline dealers in the state, informing them she had signed the bill and
urging them to begin offering cash discounts. The governor said any gas station
owners who run into difficulties with their parent companies over offering the
discounts should contact the Department of Consumer
Protection.
“The State of
Connecticut will intervene where there is any attempt to undermine
this effort,” the governor told dealers.
The bill also establishes new
protections for homeowners who make deposits on home heating oil contracts. This
action follows the losses suffered by a number of
Connecticut residents after a home heating oil contractor went out
of business last winter.
“This bill is a good start on
helping our hard-pressed consumers,” Gov. Rell said. “But it is only a start–we know we cannot rest easy. My administration is committed to fighting for
every federal dollar available, demanding real and effective action from
Washington and looking for every advantage as this struggle
continues.”
Release courtesy of Gov. Rell's office.