Late Wednesday, we received word that the Iowa House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Biofuels Access Bill which was put forth by Governor Kim Reynolds last week. The vote was bipartisan and was 82-10 in favor of the legislation.
However, not every organization is happy with the news. The Governor talks about her bill and responds to what critics of the new bill are saying.
Audio: Full discussion of Biofuels Access Bill with Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds
Governor Reynolds joined me to talk about the movement of her bill and voiced how pleased she was to see bipartisan cooperation on something that is very important to Iowa?s economy.
This is not the first time the Governor has put forth a bill of this nature. Her first endeavor was last year, and she admits that it may have been too aggressive for smaller stations to implement on a rapid timetable. She talks about the lessons learned from that first try.
Governor Reynolds outlines what this new bill is going to do for biofuels in the future.
As I stated earlier, not everybody is lauding this boll. In a statement released Thursday morning, FUELIowa President & CEO Ron Langston said:
?The hundreds of Iowa fuel retailers, distributors, and transporters that make up FUELIowa are very disappointed in the Iowa House of Representatives passing the biofuels mandate Yesterday. HF 2128 forces high costs on these businesses with little hope of a return on that investment. Unfortunately, if this bill were to become law, many of these small, mostly rural, businesses would be forced to shut down. FUELIowa remains committed to the incentives-based approach to selling more Iowa biofuel because markets, not government mandates, are what has been proven to work. We will continue to work to affect this policy proposal in the Senate and advocate fiercely for our members and Iowa consumers.?
When I asked the Governor to address this concern, she said that the bill in no way is intended to drive small rural gas stations out of business. She again reiterated the exemption process available, and that there can be financial assistance made available to any station that is looking to upgrade. She also highlights the importance of the biofuels industry on the rural Iowa economy.
The bill next heads to the state Senate. Governor Reynolds is looking forward to signing this bill into law.
