In weights and measures, providing for automotive fuel and diesel fuel tax transparency; and imposing duties on the Department of Agriculture.
Summary
HB898 would add a new section to Pennsylvania’s weights-and-measures law requiring clear, conspicuous tax labels on automotive fuel and diesel fuel dispensers. The labels must show the federal and state taxes included in the price of gasoline and diesel, as well as the combined federal/state totals for each fuel type. The bill directs the Department of Agriculture to design, affix, and maintain the labels, and to update them within 60 days of any tax-rate change.
The measure also specifies that fuel retailers are not responsible for installing or maintaining the tax labels, and it bars the department from charging retailers for initial or replacement labels. The secretary of agriculture would be required to promulgate regulations to implement the program, and any conflicting regulations would be overridden. The bill takes effect immediately if enacted.
Impact
HB898 would amend Title 3 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes by creating a new transparency requirement for fuel dispensers and assigning implementation duties to the Department of Agriculture. It would affect gasoline and diesel retailers statewide by requiring tax disclosure labels at the pump, while shifting compliance responsibility away from private retailers and onto the department. The bill also interacts with existing state liquid fuels and highway-related tax provisions in Title 75 by requiring labels to reflect current federal and state tax rates.
Sentiment
No committee transcript or recorded vote information is available for HB898, so there is no documented debate or formal voting record to gauge legislative sentiment. Based on the bill text, the measure appears to be framed as a consumer-transparency and price-disclosure proposal rather than a tax increase or reduction. The absence of recorded opposition or support in the provided materials means the overall sentiment cannot be determined beyond the bill’s stated policy goal.
Contention
The main potential point of contention is whether the state should require fuel-pump tax labels at all and whether the Department of Agriculture should bear the administrative burden of designing, installing, and updating them. Retailers may be concerned about implementation logistics, even though the bill explicitly relieves them of liability and cost for the labels. Another possible issue is whether the required labels would meaningfully inform consumers or instead add complexity by listing multiple overlapping federal and state tax categories.
Establishing clean fuels standards; establishing the Clean Fuels Standards Board; imposing duties on the Clean Fuels Standards Board and the Department of Environmental Protection; and establishing the Fair Market Credit Trading Program.
Providing for the testing and labeling of baby food and for prohibited levels of toxic heavy metals in baby food; and imposing duties on the Department of Health.