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Committee hears bill to let county auditors run motor fuel quality testing programs
Summary
Sponsors said Senate Bill 80 would permit county auditors to implement local motor fuel quality testing programs; sponsors described consumer protection and environmental benefits and said the bill is permissive, and the committee held a first hearing with no vote.
Senators Blackshear and Ingram presented sponsor testimony on Senate Bill 80 before the Ohio Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, proposing that county auditors be permitted to run motor fuel quality testing programs.
Senator Blackshear told the committee that current law lets the director of agriculture establish a statewide motor fuel quality testing program but does not expressly allow county-level programs. He said the bill would "incorporat[e] local control" and give county auditors a voluntary tool to hold fuel retailers accountable.
Senator Ingram said the measure would help protect consumers and the environment by ensuring fuel quality and preventing engine damage and reduced fuel efficiency. He told the committee the bill is permissive and would not require every county auditor to adopt a program immediately. Ingram cited prior iterations of similar legislation and said many other states have programs; sponsors told the committee that 47 other states have seen positive impacts from similar testing.
Chair Tim Schafer asked for data or examples of consumers being shorted on quantity or harmed by poor fuel quality. Sponsors acknowledged that they could not provide a specific, data-driven Ohio example at the hearing while describing anecdotal instances of engine repairs after poor-quality fuel and isolated instances where a pump dispensed less fuel than expected.
This was the first hearing on Senate Bill 80; no vote was taken.
