Lawmakers ask Braun for diesel alternative for farmers

Lawmakers want Hoosier farmers to be allowed to use off-road diesel fuel in their semi-trucks this harvest season to offset record diesel prices.

The fuel, often called red or dyed diesel, is a tax-exempt version of diesel used by tractors, bulldozers, portable generators and other off-road equipment.

State Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie, sent a letter to Gov. Mike Braun Tuesday asking that farmers be permitted to use the untaxed fuel in their semi-trucks instead of highway diesel through January 1, as diesel hit a record average of $6.92 in September.

Fifty-one other lawmakers signed onto the letter, including House Speaker Todd Houston.

“Our offices have heard ongoing concerns from farmers across Indiana about diesel fuel costs and the impact those expenses are having on agricultural operations,” Pressel wrote.

Braun suspended Indiana’s gasoline use tax in April using an obscure law allowing the governor to declare an energy emergency. He lifted the state’s gasoline excise tax the following month using the same emergency powers, with the unofficial blessing of state lawmakers.

Both taxes remain suspended through at least Oct. 6. Braun is expected to reveal as early as this week whether he will renew the suspension for another month.

But he has not suspended the tax on diesel, which is 64 cents a gallon plus additional sales taxes. He has said most diesel users are companies and not regular Hoosiers motorists.

The average cost for a gallon of regular gasoline still hit $3.85 in Indiana Tuesday, despite the roughly 60-cents-per-gallon savings, according to AAA. The average cost of diesel: $6.86.

Pressel said farmers have been “forced to bear the full price of diesel while also dealing with the pressures that prompted the state’s emergency action” while taxes were suspended for other motorists.

“If Indiana can provide temporary relief to motorists during a period of high fuel prices,” he wrote, “we should ensure farmers who play a vital role to our state are not left behind.”