00CS FOR SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 46(STA)                                                                              
01 Requesting the United States Congress to provide a waiver for nontaxable diesel                                         
02 fuel sold in Alaska from the requirement that it contain a dye additive.                                                
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04  WHEREAS the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 changed the point of                                             
05 collection of the federal highway tax and, effective January 1, 1994, requires dyeing of diesel                         
06 fuel that is exempt from the federal diesel fuel tax; and                                                               
07  WHEREAS a regulation of the Internal Revenue Service requires dye to be added to                                       
08 nontaxable diesel fuel in the state; and                                                                                
09  WHEREAS the use of diesel fuel for taxable purposes in Alaska is substantially below                                   
10 that used in the rest of the United States; the State of Alaska has determined that less than five                      
11 percent of all diesel fuel sold in the state is sold for taxable purposes for use in on-road                            
12 vehicles and recreational boats, which means that 95 percent of the diesel fuel in Alaska will                          
13 have to be dyed; and                                                                                                    
14  WHEREAS compliance with the requirement imposes a special hardship in rural                                            

01 Alaska in that the ability to meet the requirement in some rural areas is threatened due to the                         
02 logistical limitations of available tankage and controls; and                                                           
03  WHEREAS in a state in which there is a high per capita usage of private aircraft, the                                  
04 dye requirement poses a particular problem for private aircraft users in that the dyed diesel                           
05 is very similar in color to one or more fuels, which could lead to inadvertent mixing or                                
06 substitution of fuels and increases the probability of improper fuel handling and potential for                         
07 accidents, serious bodily injury, or death; and                                                                         
08  WHEREAS the Federal Aviation Administration is very concerned about these serious                                      
09 public health issues and associated safety risks; and                                                                   
10  WHEREAS the penalties for failure to comply with this legislation can be very high;                                    
11 and                                                                                                                     
12  WHEREAS there is no indication of any tax fraud in the state related to the improper                                   
13 use of nontaxable fuel for taxable purposes;                                                                            
14  BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States Congress                                      
15 to take appropriate action to assure the elimination of the safety threats imposed by the current                       
16 requirement that nontaxable diesel fuel offered for sale in Alaska be dyed by providing a                               
17 waiver of the requirement.                                                                                              
18  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President                                  
19 of the United States and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Robert C. Byrd, President                          
20 Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Thomas S. Foley, Speaker of the U.S. House                                
21 of Representatives; the Honorable Lloyd Bentsen, Secretary of Treasury; and to the Honorable                            
22 Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don                                     
23 Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.