09-25-07 by dugan
The group that represents independent truckers across the nation–including at California ports and agricultural centers–wants Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to get out his veto pen on the phony "hot fuel" bill passed by the Legislature with the support of petroleum marketers. Their letter describes a lot of the things OilWatchdog doesn’t like, and adds some sharp additional insights.
One key paragraph in the letter signed by Jim Johnston, president of the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association:
"To continue allowing fuel to be purchased with the status quo would mean retailers will continue collecting additional tax dollars from consumers that are never sent on to the federal or state governments. On the wholesale level, fuel is temperature compensated and taxed at the time of purchase. At the fuel station, any additional amount of taxes paid by motorists buying hot fuel goes straight into the pockets of the oil companies and the retailers. Nationally, retailers avoid an estimated $350 million in state and federal revenue that would otherwise go to pay for road maintenance and repair. The fuel pump is the only part of the production and distribution system where the temperature adjustment does not occur."
There’s no doubt that California’s highway system is in dire need of
repair, and the tens of millons in lost California highway taxes would
be more than a drop in the bucket of asphalt.
Truckers, who operate on the thinnest of profit margins, are also keenly interested because:
"When you consider that a trucker may consume 28,000 gallons of fuel annually, and loses about 250 gallons due to the effects of hot fuel, the annual cost to truckers is about $750."
Great letter, guys.