In the face of skyrocketing fuel prices, my Assembly minority colleagues and I have delivered an important victory for motorists: some relief at the pumps. In fact, motorists could start seeing the prices come down by June, and county governments have the option to match the state by capping their local sales taxes so motorists save even more money.
The agreement reached by the Assembly and state Senate removes the tax on a tax that allows the state to reap a windfall in the millions of dollars. The windfall has been an unexpected source of income for the state, so there are no fiscal implications to the state and, more importantly, taxpayers won’t have to make up for it.
But there are other issues that help explain high fuel prices. America has an unhealthy dependence on foreign oil that must end. That’s why I’ve joined my fellow Assembly minority colleagues in calling for the creation of an Alternative Fuel Incentive Fund dedicated to researching, developing and using alternative and renewable energy fuels to curb our dependence on foreign oil.
Gov. George Pataki last week took a major step toward helping us achieve this goal when he unveiled the planned construction of an ethanol production plant in Orleans County. Not only will this plant produce a less-expensive gas alternative, but it will provide many new jobs to our communities and award lucrative contracts to our upstate farmers for their products necessary for ethanol production.
Real progress toward delivering relief to the driving public has been made over the past few weeks and, with your support, even more will happen. These measures make certain that tourism continues in our beautiful region and that families will be able to afford their summer vacations.