Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott declared a statewide disaster over skyrocketing diesel prices, allowing the use of dyed diesel on the state’s roads in an attempt to bring down costs for drivers. Normally, cheaper dyed diesel is banned for use on the road, but the Republican governor’s proclamation suspends state restrictions and associated penalties for 30 days so operators can use it freely on Texas roads. While Abbott suspended the penalties for using dyed diesel on public roads for 30 days, he did not waive the underlying fuel tax liability.
Under the declaration, some restrictions on the use of dyed-diesel for commercial transportation are also lifted, including: raising the allowable weight for fuel, agricultural, and timber loads; suspending Texas Low Emission Diesel (TxLED) rules to the extent authorized by EPA; suspending state oversize and overweight permitting requirements for vehicles loaded with fuel, agricultural, or timber products, allowing those loads at a gross weight of up to 95,000 pounds. "Texas agriculture and freight run on diesel," Abbott said in a statement on Monday. "Record prices put both industries at risk and raise costs for every Texas family.
Farmers and truckers can now use dyed diesel on Texas roads, and fuel, crop, and timber loads can move at a higher weight. These steps cut costs on the farm, on the road, and at the store." The 30-day declaration of emergency can be extended indefinitely. Dyed diesel and regular diesel are chemically identical, but the way they are taxed is fundamentally different.
Dyed diesel is exempt from federal excise taxes and restricted to off-road use, such as for construction equipment and agricultural machinery. It is dyed on purpose so that it can be easily identified and cannot be used in place of regular diesel in on-road vehicles. Under normal circumstances, if law enforcement catches a driver using dyed diesel on an on-road vehicle, they may face hefty fines.
Red dyed diesel is the most common, as it is used for off-road vehicles, machinery, and equipment, as well as home heating. Blue dyed diesel is used for U.S. Government vehicles and equipment only.
In his disaster declaration, Abbott stated that a "shortage of diesel fuel poses an imminent threat or occurrence of harm to the public health and safety" in Texas. Shortages of the fuel have been reported on social media over the past week in stations across California, Florida and Texas, though they were not confirmed by industry data. One image posted on X last week showed a station in North Texas displaying an "out of diesel" notice, while another post on the social media platform said a station in Orlando, Florida, had also run out.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
