LANSING – Two bills touted by Michigan House GOP leaders in August as a way to save consumers at the pump, but then saw no action on the chamber floor for months, could be voted on when the House reconvenes after Thanksgiving break.

The legislation (HB 4501, HB 4502) would double fines on gasoline stations that commit second and subsequent offenses for dispensing gasoline of substandard quality, as well as raise fines for any business that is subject to the Weights and Measures Act, for dispensing a product to the consumer that is less than their measuring device claims it has provided.

After receiving a lackluster reception from the committee before it was sent to the full House, Rep. Fran Amos (R-Waterford), the bills’ sponsor, said policy analysts have been working on rewording of the legislation so that it better fits with her original intent.

At the time, representatives from the gasoline/service station industry said the bills would not aid in lowering gas prices and would severely penalize gas station owners that make mistakes or experience equipment failure.

Industry representatives who have heard the bills could come up for action support an increase in inspectors that was announced by Gov. Jennifer Granholm during the summer and stand behind an agreement apparently reached by Granholm and Amos that would not raise penalties for second offenses.

HB 4501 would double the fines on gasoline stations selling substandard fuels. The minimum fine for a second offense would rise to $1,000 with a maximum of $2,000. The minimum fine for a third and subsequent offenses would rise to $2,000 with a maximum of $4,000.

HB 4502 would increase fines for gasoline stations – and any other business subject to the Weights and Measures Act – that claim to sell a certain amount of product based on the readings of their machines and scales, but actually give less. Second offenses would rise from a $100 minimum and $5,000 maximum to $1,000 and $7,500. Third offenses would rise from a $500 minimum and $10,000 maximum to a $2,000, but still a $10,000 maximum.

If the fine amounts remain as proposed by Amos then there will be little support for the legislation by the industry.

Amos said after the committee meeting, she began to hear about other lawmakers who did not support the bill, one of whom requested an additional meeting with industry representatives that was scheduled for last week. Amos did not give the name of that lawmaker, but did say the meeting did not occur because session ran for 12 hours that day as the House was tackling the business tax cut/jobs plan.

Amos said she believes the legislation will be voted on before the end of the year, adding that she sponsored the legislation because “There’s something wrong here. I’m not trying to hurt the little guy,” she said. “I’m trying to take care of the good people.”

Amos said Michigan’s calibration failure rate of 22 percent is much higher than the national average and she wants to fix the problem.

Matt Resch, spokesperson for House Speaker Craig DeRoche (R-Novi) said House leaders are aware the bills are being reworded and while there is no set date for a vote on the legislation, it is expected to come up before Christmas.

In other gas-related news, political watchdogs should not expect any resurrection of a bill aimed at giving the governor power to suspend the state’s sales 6-percent sales tax on gas. HB 4204 won unanimous House approval in September after upset constituents bombarded lawmakers over the rising cost of gas prices.

But on Tuesday, Ari Adler, spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema (R-Wyoming) said the bill would not be taken up by the Senate Government Operations Committee, which is chaired by Sikkema.

Adler said the reason for the no vote decision is because the benefit of the bill would be miniscule for individual consumers, but aggregately detrimental to the state budget and funding for K-12 schools.

On Monday, AAA of Michigan announced gas prices had fallen by an average 4.9 cents per gallon from the last week and that the current statewide average is $2.225 per gallon. That is still 28.8 cents higher than this time last year, according to the AAA.

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