Lingle suggests 2-year
delay in gas price capThe administration would prefer
that the bill be killed entirely
If the Legislature doesn't repeal an upcoming law that caps gasoline prices, it should at least push back its effective date by two years, a Lingle administration official testified yesterday.
The administration opposes price controls on gasoline sold in the state, said Ted Liu, director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. But if the Legislature insists on regulating the price of gasoline, it should first figure out how it would affect the state's economy, Liu said.
"This extension will be essential to conduct this impact analysis and to make the necessary preparations," he said yesterday at the state Capitol.
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State lawmakers are considering changes to a law they passed two years ago, known as Act 77, that ties gasoline prices in Hawaii to prices on the West Coast. The law is scheduled to take effect July 1.
A decision on the bill was scheduled for tomorrow.
The House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee is considering Senate Bill 3192, Senate Draft 2, which would change the law to control wholesale prices only, rather than retail and wholesale, and tie prices to a national index instead of one on the West Coast.
The bill would also expand price controls to mid-grade and premium gasoline and diesel fuel. Act 77 price controls are limited to regular unleaded gasoline.
Instead of price controls, the Lingle administration proposes tighter monitoring and oversight of the gasoline market and industry.
Ted Clause, the lead attorney in the state's 1998 investigation into alleged price-fixing by Hawaii's two oil refineries, supported the bill, noting the investigation determined "there is no effective price competition among the oil companies in Hawaii."
"Hawaii's consumer can't do anything by themselves to get relief from the burden the oil oligopoly unfairly heaps on them," said Clause, a member of the price cap advocacy group Citizens Against Price Gouging.
Liu said as an alternative to price controls, lawmakers should consider "a more potent policy alternative," which would be for the state to monitor and publicize "fuel prices and volumes and industry data on costs and profits."
The Associated Press contributed to this report
