The federal government has temporarily suspended the penalty for using red dye fuel as long as taxes have been paid on the sale of that fuel.

However, many state governments have not given the thumbs-up to using red dye fuel, which has caused some problems for truckers.

Les Wilkerson, an OOIDA member from Riverside, CA, told Land Line that Montana authorities told him Montana was not allowing truckers to use red dye fuel. A spokesman for the Montana State Police confirmed that fact.

Thus far, only Virginia, California, Georgia and Michigan have temporarily waived penalties for using red dye fuel. Like the federal waiver, the waivers in those three states remain in effect until Sept. 15.

Rick Craig, OOIDA's director of regulatory affairs, said it is important for drivers to check and see if a given state is allowing the use of red dye fuel before entering that state. He said the Internal Revenue Service, which issued the federal waiver, can't do anything about state taxes.

"If somebody pays the federal fuel tax, then the IRS doesn't care," he said. "The IRS doesn't have jurisdiction and doesn't care about the state tax."