HARTFORD, Conn. -- Complaints about high gasoline prices are hitting home with state lawmakers, who voted last week to eliminate zone pricing and suspend the state's gasoline tax over the summer, reported the Associated Press.
Legislators said constituents are pleading with them to take action, as prices continue to hover near record levels.
Consumers in this state have been beaten down by high gas prices, said State Senator Bob Duff (D). We need to take control of some of those prices the best we can.
But [image-nocss] it remains unclear whether the proposals will become law, as the legislature works to reconcile different versions of the plans and races against next Wednesday's adjournment.
Duff's comments came Thursday as the state Senate, by the narrowest of margins, approved a plan to get rid of zone pricing, which results in higher gasoline prices in some parts of the state and lower prices in other areas.
The Senate voted 19-18 in favor of the ban, with Lieutenant Governor Michael Fedele, as president of the Senate, casting his first tie-breaking vote since taking office in January. The legislation now moves to the state House of Representatives.
Governor M. Jodi Rell (R) supports eliminating zone pricing and has made the proposal part of her overall plan to reduce energy prices.
The Senate approved the same zone pricing proposal last year, but it died in the House amid concerns that it would lead to price increases.
The Senate and House have also approved a tax plan that eliminates the state's 25-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax over the summer. But the move has created an impasse because the gas tax holiday is part of the majority Democrats' tax package, which would raise state income tax rates for wealthier residents and reduce them for lower- and middle-income earners. That tax package gained final legislative approval Thursday night, but was vetoed by Rell.
Rell accused Democrats Wednesday of playing ping-pong with the gasoline tax.
House Minority Leader Lawrence J. Cafero Jr. (R) suggested that Democrats might not really want the gasoline tax cut bill. The good news is, by what they did yesterday, it is a legitimate item at the negotiations table for this budget, he said. And God willing, we do it early enough so that Labor Day doesn't come and go and it has some meaning to it.
Senators on Thursday also debated another proposal aimed at lowering gasoline prices by reducing the petroleum earnings tax back to 5% beginning in July, but that plan was rejected 24-12. The tax, which applies to wholesale transactions, is currently 6.3% and is set to increase to 7% on July 1 and to 8.1% in 2014.
Supporters of the zone pricing ban hope it will lead to lower gasoline prices and eliminate what they call an unfair disparity in prices across the state.
This bill says that you cannot discriminate against anyone purchasing gas, said Sen. Thomas Colapietro (D). This will create a free market for retailers to compete with a level playing field for each gas station, to the benefit of the consumer.
But opponents said there was no evidence that prices would go down and they worried that consumers would end up paying more at the pumps. Some said oil companies cannot be trusted to lower prices.
I think we're all going to pay more for gasoline if we get rid of zone pricing in Connecticut, said Sen. David Cappiello (R). I don't think the big oil companies are altruistic. I think they're going to make as money as they can from us consumers.
Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams Jr. (D) also opposed the zone pricing ban, saying higher prices could be an unintended consequence.
Williams accused oil companies of taking in excessive profits. He said that while the price of crude oil has increased about 1.4% since January, gasoline prices in the state have increased nearly 40%, despite refinery capacity nearly reaching the same levels as before Hurricane Katrina. We also know that oil company profits are the highest they have ever been in their history, Williams said. I don't need studies to figure out what's going on.
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