(The Center Square) – As average gas prices in California continue to hover above $6 a gallon, one lawmaker's solution is an E85 fuel conversion kit.
Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom, D-Stockton, introduced Assembly Bill 2046. She presented the measure, which is designed to lower prices by allowing Californians to install an E85 fuel conversion kit, on the Assembly floor early Thursday afternoon.
The bill passed on the Assembly floor early Thursday afternoon, with 59 Assembly members voting to pass the bill, and none voting against it. Twenty members did not vote. AB 2046 will be read in the Assembly one more time for another vote. If passed again, it will head to the Senate.
“Assembly Bill 2046 expands the consumers’ voice by giving Californians access to cleaner, more affordable fuel options,” Ransom said on the Assembly floor. “Californians consistently pay more at the pump than other states, and gas prices are once again climbing across the state. For commuters and working families, it offers a practical way to save money.”
The kits, which have previously been banned under California state law, have been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, E85 fuel consists of high-level ethanol and gasoline fuel blends, which can result in decreased fuel economy and lower miles per gallon. A number of retailers say that because of the decreased miles per gallon, it is often cheaper than more conventional types of gasoline commonly sold at gas stations up and down the state.
California is the only state to prohibit the use of E85 conversion kits approved by the federal government, Ransom said.
“At a time when Californians are struggling with affordability, AB 2046 provides real relief for families across our state,” Ransom said. “This is a consumer choice bill that has enjoyed bipartisan support.”
According to AAA, a regular gallon of gasoline was $6.14 in California on Thursday, well above the national average of $4.56 a gallon. The most expensive gas in the Golden State was in rural Mono County, on California’s eastern border. That county saw an average of $7.04 a gallon of regular gas, followed by Humboldt County, on the northern California coast, at $6.57 a gallon, and Inyo County, at $6.40 a gallon.
Republican lawmakers also introduced legislation this year to help provide relief for Californians’ wallets at the gas station. One of those bills, authored by Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, aimed to suspend the state’s gas tax, but ultimately failed in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee in March.
“We’re in a time right now where people are living paycheck to paycheck,” Strickland previously told The Center Square. “Hard-working families can’t afford these high gas prices, especially young people who are just trying to make it. A lot of people in California have to decide between a gallon of milk and a gallon of gas, and this is one thing we can do immediately.”
Other bills, like Assembly Bill 1745, aimed to do much the same thing as Strickland’s bill. That bill lost traction in the state legislature’s lower chamber in February, with the state’s bill tracker listing the last action on that bill as having been referred to the Committee on Transportation for a hearing.
No other members of the Assembly spoke out in favor of or in opposition to the bill on Thursday, and Republican members of the Assembly did not respond to The Center Square's request for comment after the bill was passed on Thursday. Organizations and social groups that advocate for E85 use, such as Pro E85 Racing and the Ellisville, Missouri-based Renewable Fuels Association, did not respond to The Center Square before press time on Thursday.
