HB8536, the Fuel STAR Act of 2026, would amend the Clean Air Act’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to limit how quickly renewable fuel volume requirements can grow. It directs EPA to cap annual increases in the applicable volume for non-advanced renewable fuel so they do not exceed projected domestic ethanol-blended fuel consumption in the Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook. The bill also extends the usability of certain RFS compliance credits generated in 2020 through 2022 for five additional years, while limiting how much of a company’s annual compliance can be met with those older credits.
The bill further prohibits EPA from requiring electric credits, commonly called e-RINs, in implementing the RFS. It revises the small refinery exemption process by creating a specific exemption pathway for newer small refineries with average crude throughput of 10,000 barrels per day or less, and it changes how EPA and the Department of Energy evaluate hardship petitions. The bill would require EPA to treat some exemptions as extensions, impose deadlines and deemed-granted consequences if EPA does not respond in time, and bar EPA from reallocating a small refinery’s renewable fuel obligation to other refineries when an exemption extension is granted.
HB8536 also changes gasoline volatility rules to support year-round sales of E15, a fuel blend containing 15 percent ethanol. It would equalize Reid vapor pressure limits for gasoline blends containing more than 10 percent but not more than 15 percent ethanol with those applicable to 10 percent ethanol blends, and it updates related Clean Air Act provisions to refer to 10 to 15 percent ethanol blends rather than only 10 percent blends.
The bill’s impact would be to narrow and slow the growth of federal biofuel blending mandates, provide additional compliance flexibility to refiners, especially small refineries, and make it easier to market higher-ethanol gasoline blends year-round. It would amend multiple provisions of Clean Air Act section 211(o) and related fuel volatility rules, affecting EPA rulemaking, refinery compliance obligations, renewable identification number credit markets, ethanol producers, petroleum refiners, and fuel marketers.
The available context shows no committee discussion or recorded votes, so there is no documented public sentiment in the provided materials. Based on the bill’s structure, it appears designed to appeal to refiners and fuel producers seeking relief from RFS compliance costs and to ethanol supporters seeking expanded E15 sales, but it also contains provisions likely to draw opposition from environmental groups and some renewable fuel advocates who may view the bill as weakening the RFS and restricting EPA’s flexibility.
HB8536 would amend Clean Air Act section 211(o) and related fuel volatility provisions, changing EPA’s authority over Renewable Fuel Standard volumes, credit compliance, and small refinery exemptions. It would also affect the treatment of renewable fuel credits, prohibit an e-RIN mandate, and revise federal rules governing E15 volatility limits and year-round E15 sales. The bill would directly affect EPA, refineries, fuel blenders, ethanol producers, and parties participating in the RFS credit market.
No votes or committee transcripts were provided, so there is no recorded legislative sentiment in the supplied materials. On its face, the bill reflects a pro-refinery and pro-E15 posture: it offers compliance relief, limits RFS volume growth, and blocks an electric-credit requirement, while also supporting year-round E15 sales. That combination suggests likely support from petroleum refiners and some fuel retailers, with likely concern from environmental and some biofuel stakeholders.
The main points of contention are likely to be the bill’s limits on Renewable Fuel Standard growth, its expansion of small refinery exemptions, and its prohibition on EPA requiring e-RINs. Refiners and refinery trade interests would likely support the exemption and compliance-relief provisions, while ethanol producers and renewable fuel advocates may object to the cap on renewable volume growth and the use of older credits. Environmental groups may also oppose the bill as weakening federal clean-fuel policy, even though ethanol supporters may favor the E15 year-round sales provisions.