Ind. lawmakers want answers about gas prices

By The Associated Press

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By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Oct 4, 2008 at 12:08 PM EST

Story Updated: Oct 4, 2008 at 12:08 PM EST

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — State lawmakers want some answers about gasoline prices.

A commission made up of Indiana House and Senate members plans to hold a hearing at the Statehouse Wednesday to examine gasoline pricing policies in Indiana.

The Commission on State Tax and Financing Policy is inviting representatives of the petroleum industry, local distributors, consumers and the state attorney general, who investigates consumer complaints. The public can also attend the meeting, although the agenda states that testimony will only be taken from those invited.

Leaders in the Indiana House and Senate requested that the commission take up the gas price issue. Commission chair Peggy Welch, a Democrat from Bloomington, said pump prices seem to change on an hourly basis and can vary wildly between nearby gas stations.

"There is enough uncertainty and fear out there that I feel we are being responsible public citizens by asking representatives of the various industries involved in this situation to come before a body of elected officials and explain what is going on out there," Welch said.

Gas prices jumped to more than $5 a gallon in some areas of the country — and topped $4 a gallon in Indiana — after Hurricane Ike came ashore in September, causing some Gulf Coast refineries to temporarily close. Indiana gas prices reached a record high on July 17, when a gallon of regular unleaded averaged $4.11, according to the AAA Hoosier Motor Club.

Gas prices have become an issue in two statewide political races this year.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jill Long Thompson has repeatedly urged Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels to temporarily suspend the state's sales tax on gasoline. Daniels has said he does not have the authority to do so.

The Democratic attorney general candidate, Linda Pence, has said the attorney general's office should do more to investigate pricing practices. Attorney General Steve Carter says his office examines all consumer complaints about high prices at stations and monitors daily the relationship between pump prices and wholesale prices in Indiana. Carter is not running for re-election, but the Republican nominee is his chief deputy, Greg Zoeller, who said Pence's suggestion was a way for her to act as an "attack dog" for Long Thompson.

The tax commission, which includes both Democrats and Republicans, plans to meet 10 a.m. Wednesday in Room 404 of the Statehouse.

___

On the Web:

The meeting will be broadcast online at: http://mediaserver.ihets.org/waysandmeans

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