TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The owners of small and independent gas stations in Florida urged lawmakers Tuesday not to repeal the state's below-cost gasoline sales law. There is an effort in the state legislature to do so, reported the Associated Press. Repeal supporters argue it could save consumers millions of dollars.
But local gas station owners argue that the law protects them from big, refinery-owned stations that can afford to charge less than their cost for gasoline and lose money at some stations long enough to put smaller retailers out of business.[image-nocss]
The big gas stations back the repeal, along with some consumer advocacy groups.
But the big retailers' motivation is market control through predatory pricing and the systematic elimination of the independent competition, said Jim Smith, president of the Florida Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association, which represents smaller station owners.
Supporters of the repeal, however, say it just would encourage competition and that government shouldn't impede the market by blocking companies from charging less for a product.
The measures to repeal the law, SB 2072 and HB 909, have not yet been heard in committee.
State Representative Irv Slosberg (D) said the state needs to encourage gas wars by repealing the below-cost law, added the Palm Beach Post. Gas wars are illegal here, Slosberg said. We have ice cream wars. We have corn wars. We have telephone wars. Why don't we have gas wars? I'm upset.
Slosberg disagreed with Smith. They're trying to make us believe that price fixing is good, he told the newspaper.
State Senator Nancy Argenziano (R), sponsor of the Senate's measure, said that repealing the law, first passed in 1985, would save Florida consumers up to $250 million annually and reduce gasoline prices from 2 to 7 cents per gallon at the pump.
I'm not doing this for Wal-Mart. I'm doing this to save money at the pump, Argenziano told the paper. She said that the law prohibits competition. She also said that the 38 states that do not have what she called mandated markup have not caused independent retailers to go out of business.
Slosberg said convenience store owners should diversify if they want to stay in business. Go find other things to make money on. We need it for our gas tanks, he said.
Governor Jeb Bush, Attorney General Charlie Crist and Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson support the bills, said the report.
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