2004 House Bill 6074 ↩

Senate Roll Call 701: Passed

To extend until 2011 the 7/8ths cent-per-gallon fuel sale "regulatory fee" (tax) levied for the cleanup of underground fuel tanks, and authorize a $43 million "fund raid" on the underground tank cleanup fund to avoid making spending cuts in the 2005 budget. Under current law, the tax would have ended on Sept. 30, 2004, and extending it will increase the tax paid by motorists by approximately $30 million a year. A new council will recommend fuel-related cleanups and other uses for the money, including existing fuel industry regulatory programs now funded by the general fund. The MUSTFA law requires the tax to be used for underground tank cleanup, and a pending lawsuit contends the tax should have been eliminated once there was enough money to pay off MUSTFA's debt.