Gas prices surge in Katrina's aftermath

With crude oil spot prices topping $70 a barrel and the shutdown of oil refineries along the Gulf Coast, area motorists saw gas prices climb 50 cents from $2.50 a gallon Aug. 30 to $3 a gallon Aug. 31.

Robert Wilson, president of local gas station chain Rapid Robert’s, said motorists might want to get used to it.

“The most dramatic effects are going to be felt in the near term, but I can’t help but think we’ll have some lasting effects on price and supply,” he said. “So many refineries are shut down totally, and others shut down partially, that it’s going to have to continue to affect our supply.”

Springfield Public Schools budgeted $263,436 for fuel costs for the 2005-2006 school year, which includes about $43,000 more than the previous school year to account for higher gas prices, said Glenn Bradley, coordinator for transportation. He now fears the district will have to cut bus transportation for extracurricular trips and athletics to make up for the unexpected jump.

“We’re trying to get ahead of the curveball and project a little,” he said. “We just have to keep doing what we need to do, and that’s transport kids to and from school.”

Lower prices could be coming if a propoal by Missouri House Democrats to cut gas taxes makes its way to the Sept. 6 special legislative session.

The proposal would create a gas tax holiday that removes 10 cents of the 17-cents-per-gallon excise tax on gas and diesel fuel for 14 days. It would permanently exempt school districts from paying state fuel taxes.

The plan would save taxpayers an estimated $18.4 million, said House Minority Leader Jeff Harris.

But that proposal is not finding support in all directions. Jeff Briggs, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Transportation, said the department is fighting the proposal because it would result in a loss of about $19.1 million in funding for state highways and local roads.

“We’re all taxpayers, too, and we definitely wish we could get lower gas prices, but everybody that buys gas wants to burn it when they’re driving on good, smooth roads,” Briggs said.

Legislator Harris said that the move would be a boon for the general economy because motorists from surrounding states and over-the-road truckers would come to Missouri to take advantage of the tax holiday.

“Missouri gas taxes, under the proposal, will be as much as 22 cents a gallon cheaper than in our neighboring states, and you’ll see people crossing the state line. It’ll be a boost to our economy,” he said.

Gov. Matt Blunt will decide whether the proposal comes before to legislators in the upcoming special session. Blunt hadn’t decided as of Sept. 1.

On Aug. 31, Blunt called for an investigation into gas suppliers for evidence of price gouging after Hurricane Katrina.

Attorney General Jay Nixon will look into the dramatic price hikes not seen since Sept. 11, when almost 50 Missouri gas stations were fined for price gouging.

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