Proposed Ethanol Mandate Dies in Iowa Legislature

Wallaces Farmer

A bill that would have required the use of at least a 10% ethanol blend in all gasoline sold for highway use in Iowa died in the Iowa Legislature last week. The Senate Democratic leadership decided there wouldn't be enough time to move the proposed legislation through the process the previous week for it to stay alive and make it through the second "legislative funnel" which was March 5.

State Sen. Jack Kibbie, D-Emmetsburg, is president of the Iowa Senate and was the sponsor of the bill that would have required ethanol to be blended in all gasoline sold for highway use in Iowa. The state has no mandate for ethanol use, despite being the nation's largest ethanol producer.

"There was concern that some people don't like mandates, and of course the petroleum marketers didn't like this bill and lobbied very hard against it," says Kibbie. "We couldn't get the biodiesel bill through both the Iowa Senate and the Iowa House last year, so there was fear that the same thing would happen this year with the ethanol bill." He says it can be reintroduced for debate next year.

Read the full story