Ryan Hanretty, Executive Director of the California Independent Oil Marketers Association (CIOMA) issued the following statement on the heels of the Governor’s State of the State address in opposition to Assembly Bill 1745. As introduced by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D – San Francisco), AB 1745 would ban the registration of vehicles with internal combustion engines starting in the year 2040.
“California’s fuel marketers and convenience store industries are leaders in clean fuel innovations through ethanol, biofuels, and renewable diesel; and, are in fact responsible for introducing the first biodiesel fuel into California. In addition, convenience and fuel businesses have implemented the most technologically advanced vapor recovery and underground storage technologies that continue to improve and prioritize clean water and clean air in every community in California.
“In yesterday’s State of the State address, the Governor prophesized numbers well beyond his own agency’s (CARB) projections for zero-emission vehicles by the year 2030, yet he chose not to endorse AB 1745. The Governor clearly sent a message that he does not want this bill – as evident by his release of Executive Order B-48-18 just today, and neither do the people of California.
“Banning gas-powered cars would impose a tremendous financial burden on California’s middle-class and force hundreds of convenience stores to shut their doors and lay off thousands of employees. AB 1745 ignores the positive impact of cleaner fuels in favor of forcing millions of Californians to purchase cars they may or may not want.
“The discounting of today’s fueling improvements and the impacts to small, family- and minority-owned businesses highlight just some of the major problems contained in AB 1745.”
CIOMA is the industry’s statewide trade association representing the needs of independent wholesale and retail marketers of gasoline, diesel, lubricating oils and other petroleum products; transporters of those products; and retail convenience store operators.
