The latest in a series of efforts to be brought before lawmakers in Wisconsin would give drivers in the state a slight reprieve from high fuel prices.

Rep. Stephen Nass, R-Whitewater, has drafted a two-part bill that would stop the annual indexing of motor fuels and institute at least a 30-day fuel tax holiday.

The effort would eliminate 29.9 cents per gallon from the state’s gasoline and diesel tax for 30 days. It would not suspend the 3-cent-per-gallon oil inspection fee.

Gov. Jim Doyle would also have the option to extend the holiday another 30 days.

The legislation doesn’t address the status of the International Fuel Tax Agreement requirements for miles driven in Wisconsin . So, even if the tax is suspended at the pump, truckers could end up owing it at the end of the quarter when they file their IFTA paperwork and payments.

Nass said in a released statement the tax break could save consumers $178 million over the course of two months.

The second part of the bill would end automatic increases in the state’s fuel tax and require lawmakers to annually vote on any tax changes.

The automatic increase in the tax has been adjusted for inflation on April 1 each year since 1985. This year, the tax increased 0.8 cents a gallon.

With the new tax rate, Wisconsin claims the highest average fuel tax in the nation. Revenue from the tax, which is almost 14 cents per gallon higher than the national average, is primarily used to build roads.

Nass said dropping the automatic indexing would save consumers more than $38 million in the next two years.

In addition to Nass’ effort to grant a fuel tax holiday and end automatic increases to the tax, a handful other lawmakers also have put pen to paper on similar efforts.

Representatives Robin Vos, Pat Strachota and Don Pridemore introduced a bill that would cut the states’ per gallon tax on gasoline and diesel to 15 cents for four months.

The bill – AB729 – is in the Joint Committee on Finance.

Vos, of Caledonia, said a temporary price break is the least that state lawmakers can do.

“I can’t control OPEC, I can’t control crude oil output in the Gulf, but I can work with my colleagues to try to help people who need help right now with gas prices that are going through the roof,” Vos told Land Line.

Sen. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, and Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, have sponsored a bill that would end the annual fuel tax increase.

They call it a “covert” tax hike.

“The politicians’ boast of ‘no new taxes’ is false if the Legislature allows gas taxes to keep going up without a vote,” Black said in a released statement. “Elected officials cannot escape their accountability for tax hikes by blaming an automatic formula. It is hypocritical for politicians to pat themselves on the back for not raising taxes while at the same time they are quietly allowing a major tax hike.”

The bill – SB156 – has been sent to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Transportation.

A similar effort offered by Assemblyman Jeffrey Wood, R-Chippewa Falls, would permit one more automatic increase in April 2006 before implementing the new restriction.

Wood’s bill – AB711 – is in the Joint Committee on Finance.

The governor’s take
Gov. Jim Doyle wants to stay away from any effort that would cut into the state’s ability to generate revenue for roads.

As an alternative, the governor is pushing to repeal the state’s minimum markup requirement for diesel and gasoline. The rule has been in place since the 1930s.

A measure in the Assembly Joint Committee on Finance would do what Doyle wants.

AB505, sponsored by Rep. Jeffrey Wood, R-Chippewa Falls, would strike provisions in state law requiring markups of 3 percent for wholesalers and 6 percent for retailers.

State law prohibits the sale of fuel at below cost, which is designed to prevent businesses from selling at a loss in order to drive out competitors.

If signed into law, the governor’s office said fuel prices would drop about 9 cents “virtually overnight.”

– By Keith Goble, state legislative editor
keith_goble@landlinemag.com