Bill Text: MS HB1394 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Unblended gasoline; require suppliers to supply gasoline distributors with for later blending.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Failed) 2010-02-02 - Died In Committee [HB1394 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2010-HB1394-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2010 Regular Session
To: Ways and Means
By: Representative Ward
House Bill 1394
AN ACT TO REQUIRE SUPPLIERS OF GASOLINE TO SUPPLY A GASOLINE DISTRIBUTOR WITH ALL GRADES OF UNBLENDED GASOLINE SUITABLE FOR BLENDING WITH FUEL ALCOHOL; TO PROHIBIT SUPPLIERS FROM TAKING CERTAIN ACTIONS TOWARDS DISTRIBUTORS; TO REQUIRE A GASOLINE DISTRIBUTOR TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS A SUPPLIER AGAINST ANY LOSSES OR DAMAGES SUFFERED BY THE DISTRIBUTOR AFTER THE DISTRIBUTOR BLENDS THE GASOLINE; TO REENACT AND AMEND SECTION 75-55-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES THE DEFINITIONS AND SPECIFICATIONS UNDER THE PETROLEUM PRODUCTS INSPECTION LAW OF MISSISSIPPI, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT AND TO EXTEND THE DATE OF THE REPEALER ON THAT SECTION; TO AMEND SECTIONS 27-55-5 AND 27-55-527, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. A supplier who, acting in accordance with a marketing agreement, supplies gasoline from a terminal in this state to a gasoline distributor shall offer to supply the distributor with all grades of gasoline that have not been blended with, but is suitable for blending with, fuel alcohol. Suppliers shall not prevent or inhibit a gasoline distributor in this state from acting as a blender or from qualifying for any federal or state tax credit due to blenders. If a supplier supplies gasoline to a gasoline distributor under this section which is then blended, the gasoline distributor shall indemnify and hold harmless the supplier against any losses or damages arising out of claims, costs, judgments and expenses, including reasonable attorney's fees or suits relating to or arising out of the blending.
SECTION 2. Section 75-55-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted and amended as follows:
75-55-5. (1) The words, terms and phrases as used in this chapter shall have the following meanings, unless the context requires otherwise:
(a) The term "commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, or his agents and employees.
(b) The term "State Chemist" means the Director of the Mississippi State Chemical Laboratory, or his agents and employees.
(c) The term "ASTM" means an international voluntary consensus standards organization formed for the development of standards on characteristics and performance of materials, products, systems, and services, and the promotion of related knowledge.
(d) The term "person" shall include any individual, firm, copartnership, joint venture, association, corporation, estate, trust or any other group or combination acting as a unit, and the plural as well as the singular number, unless the intention to give a more limited meaning is disclosed by the context.
(e) The term "illuminating oil" shall include coal oil, kerosene or other petroleum products used for illuminating purposes.
(f) The term "lubricating oil" means all petroleum based oils or synthetic lubricants intended for use in the crankcase of an internal combustion engine, either spark ignition or diesel type. The purpose of the lubricating oil is to reduce friction between two (2) solid surfaces moving relative to one another.
(g) The term "gasoline pump" shall include pumps, meters and all measuring devices used for measuring gasoline and all oxygenated blended fuels; the term "diesel fuel pump" shall include pumps, meters and all measuring devices used for measuring diesel fuel; the term "kerosene pump" shall include pumps, meters and all measuring devices used for measuring kerosene; the term "liquefied compressed gas pump" shall include pumps, meters and all measuring devices used for measuring liquefied compressed gas.
(h) The term "gasoline" shall include (1) all products commonly or commercially known or sold as gasoline (excluding casing head and absorption or natural gasoline) regardless of their classification or uses; and (2) a volatile mixture of liquid hydrocarbons, generally containing small amounts of additives, suitable for use as a fuel in spark ignition, internal combustion engines.
(i) The term "commercial gasoline" shall mean a liquid suitable for use as a fuel in spark ignition combustion engines, and shall be free of undissolved water, suspended matter and of any harmful ingredient or component and which, in addition, meets the following test requirements as set out in ASTM D4814, and it shall be the intent of this chapter that the state specifications may be kept current with ASTM D4814 as illustrated below:
(i) Corrosion ASTM D130. A clean copper strip shall not show more than extremely slight discoloration equivalent to ASTM Strip No. 1, when submerged in the gasoline for three (3) hours at one hundred twenty-two (l22) degrees Fahrenheit, as determined by ASTM D130.
(ii) Distillation range. For each month the distillation range shall be that specified by the vapor pressure class requirement for that month. Distillation temperature limits shall be consistent with the corresponding vapor pressure class during the months affected by federal or state regulation which restrict vapor pressure. If the vapor pressure limit is between two (2) classes, the distillation temperature limits of the least restrictive class shall be acceptable. The method of test shall be ASTM D86.
(iii) Residue. The residue, after evaporation, shall not exceed two percent (2%), as determined by ASTM D86.
(iv) Gum test. The gum shall not exceed five (5) milligrams per one hundred (100) milliliters, after the extraction of the residue with a-heptane, as determined by ASTM D381.
(v) Sulphur. The sulphur content shall not exceed ten one-hundredths percent (0.10%) for unleaded gasoline or fifteen one-hundredths percent (0.15%) for leaded gasoline, as determined by ASTM D2622 or D4045.
(vi) Vapor pressure. The vapor pressure during the months of July and August shall not exceed ten (10) pounds per square inch at one hundred (100) degrees Fahrenheit, and during the months of November, December, January, February and March shall not exceed thirteen and one-half (13-1/2) pounds per square inch at one hundred (100) degrees Fahrenheit.
The vapor pressure during the remaining months of the year shall not exceed eleven and five-tenths (11.5) pounds per square inch at one hundred (100) degrees Fahrenheit. The method of determination shall be ASTM D4953. Federal or state regulation restricting vapor pressure to lower levels shall preempt these standards during the applicable months.
(vii) Vapor liquid equilibrium. A maximum value of twenty (20) for the vapor liquid equilibrium test during the months July and August shall be obtained at a temperature of one hundred thirty-three (l33) degrees Fahrenheit; for the months of November, December, January, February and March it shall be obtained at a temperature of one hundred sixteen (116) degrees Fahrenheit; for the other months of the year it shall be obtained at one hundred twenty-four (124) degrees Fahrenheit. The method of determination shall be ASTM D2533 or ASTM D4814, appendix X2.
(viii) Lead specifications. The unleaded gasoline shall contain less than five hundredths (0.05) gram of lead per gallon, and the leaded gasoline shall contain a minimum of five hundredths (0.05) gram of lead and less than four and two-tenths (4.2) grams of lead per gallon. The method of analysis should be ASTM D3237, (Atomic Absorption Spectrometry), ASTM D2599 (X-ray Spectrometry) or ASTM D2547 (Volumetric Chromate).
(ix) Classification.
1. "Leaded premium grade gasoline" shall have an (R + M)/2 octane antiknock index of at least ninety-three (93). The research octane number shall be at least ninety-six (96).
2. "Unleaded premium grade gasoline" shall have an (R + M)/2 octane antiknock index of at least ninety-one (91). The research octane number shall be at least ninety-four (94).
3. "Mid-grade unleaded gasoline" shall have an (R + M)/2 octane antiknock index of at least eighty-nine (89). The research octane number shall be at least ninety-two (92).
4. "Leaded regular grade gasoline" shall have an (R + M)/2 octane antiknock index of at least eighty-nine (89). The research octane number shall be at least ninety (90).
5. "Unleaded regular grade gasoline" shall have an (R + M)/2 octane antiknock index of at least eighty-seven (87). The research octane number shall be at least ninety (90), and the motor octane number shall be at least eighty-two (82).
6. "Third grade gasoline" shall have an (R + M)/2 octane antiknock of not more than eighty-seven (87).
The methods of octane determination shall be ASTM D2699 for the research octane number (R) and ASTM D2700 for the motor octane number (M), or ASTM D2885 for both the research octane number and the motor octane number. The (R + M)/2 octane antiknock index shall be the average of the research and motor octane numbers. All retail pumps or delivery devices shall be labeled with the appropriate (R + M)/2 octane antiknock index in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission Octane Posting and Certification Regulation 306. No commercial gasoline shall be colored mahogany.
(j) The term "oxygenated fuel" means a liquid fuel which is a homogeneous blend of hydrocarbons and oxygenates. The term "oxygenate" means an oxygen containing, ashless organic compound which may be used as a fuel supplement or additive and includes alcohols and ethers. "Gasoline-oxygenate blend" means a blend consisting primarily of gasoline and a substantial amount of one or more oxygenates. This definition includes, but is not limited to, the following designations:
(i) "Gasohol" meaning any blended fuel composed of gasoline and fuel grade alcohol.
(ii) "Leaded gasohol" meaning any motor fuel containing a nominal ten (10) volume percent anhydrous, denatured ethanol and ninety (90) volume percent leaded gasoline, regardless of other name, label or designation.
(iii) Any gasoline-oxygenate blend which meets the United States Environmental Protection Agency's "substantially similar" rule, Section 211(f)(1) of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7545(f)(1).
(iv) Any gasoline-oxygenate blend for which there is an existing Clean Air Act waiver issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
(k) "Alcohol blended fuel" means gasohol or leaded gasohol.
(l) "Anhydrous, denatured ethyl alcohol (ethanol)" means normal two hundred (200) proof ethanol to which has been added a maximum of five (5) volumes of approved denaturant(s) to one hundred (100) volumes of ethanol and containing not more than one and twenty-five hundredths percent (1.25%) water by weight as determined by ASTM E203.
(m) "Approved denaturant(s)" means materials used for denaturing ethyl alcohol for use as a motor fuel which have been approved by the United States Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and both the State Chemist and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce. Gasoline-oxygenate blends shall meet the specifications set forth in the most recent edition of the Annual Book of ASTM standards and supplements thereto, and revisions thereof, except where amended or modified by the Commissioner and State Chemist.
(n) The term "oil" as used in this chapter shall include diesel fuel, kerosene, fuel oil, distillate, gas oil, tractor fuel or any other product other than gasoline, as defined in this chapter, which is usable as fuel in an internal combustion engine, and any product which, on distillation in accordance with the method of test of the American Society for Testing and Materials shows not more than ten percent (10%) recovered when the thermometer shows two hundred sixty-one (261) degrees Fahrenheit; and not more than ninety-five percent (95%) recovered when the thermometer shows four hundred sixty-five (465) degrees Fahrenheit or more; provided that nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to include oils received or sold as lubricants when such oils cannot be used as a fuel in internal combustion engines.
(o) "Diesel fuel" is any petroleum product intended for use or offered for sale as a fuel for engines in which the fuel is injected into the combustion chamber and ignited by pressure without the presence of an electric spark.
Specifications: The fuel oils herein specified shall be hydrocarbon oils free from acids, grit and fibrous or other foreign material. Three (3) grades of such oils are specified and these shall conform to the detailed requirements in the current American Society for Testing and Materials Specifications for Diesel Fuel Oils (ASTM D975), except for the sulphur content of Grade 2-D. All tests shall be in accordance with the applicable American Society for Testing and Materials method as set forth in the current ASTM Designation D975. Diesel fuel requirements are listed below:
Grade 1-D Grade 2-D Grade 4-D Flash point, degrees F. D93 Min. 100 Min. 125 Min. 130
Water & sediment,
% by volume, D1796 Max. 0.05 Max. 0.05 Max. 0.5
Carbon residue on 10%
residium, % D524 Max. 0.15 Max. 0.35 ________
Ash, % by weight, D482 Max. 0.01 Max. 0.01 Max. 0.1
Distillation, 90% point,
degrees F., D86 _________ Min. 540 ________
Max. 550 Max. 640 ________
Viscosity @ 100 degrees F.
kinematic-centistokes
D445 Min. 1.3 Min. 2.0 Min. 5.5
or Max. 2.4 Max. 4.1 Max. 24.0
Viscosity @ 100 degrees F.
Saybolt Universal Sec. ________ Min. 32.6 Min. 45
Max. 34.4 Max. 40.1 Max. 125
Sulphur, % by weight, D129 Max. 0.5 Max. 1.0 Max. 2.0
Copper strip corrosion, D130 Max. No. 3 Max. No. 3 ________
Cetane number, D613 or D976 Min. 40 Min. 40 Min. 30
(p) * * * "Kerosene" * * * includes lamp oil, illuminating oil and coal oil which shall conform to the detailed requirements set forth in the current American Society for Testing and Materials Specification for Kerosene (ASTM D3699). All tests shall be in accordance with the applicable American Society for Testing and Material Methods as set forth in ASTM D3699. The detailed requirements are listed below:
(i) The oil shall be free of water and suspended matter.
(ii) The color shall not be darker than number plus sixteen (16) on the Saybolt scale, as determined by ASTM D156.
(iii) The flash point shall, by ASTM D56, not be lower than one hundred (100) degrees Fahrenheit when determined in Tagliabue closed type tester, as determined by ASTM D56.
(iv) The sulphur content shall not exceed four one-hundredths percent (0.04%) for No. 1-K kerosene and thirty one-hundredths percent (0.30%) for No. 2-K. The method of determination shall be ASTM D1266. No. 1-K kerosene is a special low-sulphur grade kerosene suitable for use in nonflue-connected kerosene burner appliances and in wick-fed illuminating lamps. No. 2-K Kerosene is suitable for use in flue-connected burner appliances and in wick-fed illuminating lamps.
(v) The distillation ten percent (10%) point shall not be higher than four hundred one (401) degrees Fahrenheit, as determined by ASTM D86.
(vi) The distillation end point shall not be higher than five hundred seventy-two (572) degrees Fahrenheit, as determined by ASTM D86.
(vii) The oil shall not show a cloud point at five (5) degrees Fahrenheit, as determined by ASTM D2500.
(viii) The oil shall burn freely and steadily for sixteen (16) hours, as determined by ASTM D187.
(ix) The gravity shall not be less than degrees API 41, as determined by ASTM D1298.
(x) The corrosion test results shall be No. 1 Maximum in a three-hour at two hundred twelve (212) degrees Fahrenheit test, as determined by ASTM D130.
(q) Racing gasoline means any gasoline which is sold for racing purposes. Racing gasoline may be sold from retail dispensing equipment under the following conditions:
(i) The product brand name and octane number shall be registered with the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce and the State Chemist.
(ii) The manufacturer shall forward a list of marketers selling these product(s) and the product(s) being sold by each marketer.
(iii) Marketers shall register their retail outlets by location and provide a list of the product(s) sold for each retail outlet.
(iv) The dispensing equipment shall contain a conspicuous sign stating that the fuel is racing gasoline. The dispensing equipment shall not contain any kind of representation indicating that the product is suitable for vehicles other than for racing.
(v) The dispensing equipment shall be dedicated to and isolated from any other motor fuel dispensing equipment in a manner that a vehicle cannot access both the commercial gasoline and the racing gasoline at the same time.
(vi) Any violation shall result in revocation of the approval to market and/or confiscation of the product.
(vii) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce (the "commissioner") and the State Chemist are hereby given authority to change the specifications set forth in this section to comply with the currently recommended ASTM or federally required specifications.
(r) "Automotive gasoline" means octane rated fuels made from petroleum products for use in the propulsion of motor vehicles.
(s) "Automotive gasoline dealer" or "gasoline dealer" means any person or firm engaged primarily in the retail sale of automotive gasoline and related products and services under a marketing agreement entered into with an automotive gasoline distributor.
(t) "Automotive gasoline distributor" or "gasoline distributor" means any person or firm engaged, whether as a jobber or supplier, in the sale, consignment or distribution of gasoline to automotive gasoline dealers under marketing agreements.
(u) "Blended fuel" means a mixture composed of automotive gasoline and another liquid, other than a de minimus amount of a product such as carburetor detergent or oxidation inhibitor, which can be used as a fuel in a motor vehicle.
(v) "Blender" means a person or firm that produces blended fuel outside a terminal transfer system.
(w) "Fuel alcohol" means alcohol or fuel grade ethanol.
(x) "Jobber" means an automotive gasoline distributor which is not a supplier.
(y) "Marketing agreement" or "agreement" means a written agreement, including a franchise, and all related written agreements between an automotive gasoline distributor and an automotive gasoline dealer under which the dealer is supplied automotive gasoline for retail sale, or an agreement between an automotive gasoline distributor and an automotive gasoline dealer under which the automotive gasoline dealer is granted the right to occupy premises owned, leased or controlled by the automotive gasoline distributor for the purpose of engaging in the retail sale of gasoline of the automotive gasoline distributor.
(z) "Position holder" means a person or firm that holds the inventory position in automotive gasoline in a terminal, as reflected on the records of the terminal operator. A person or firm holds the inventory position in automotive gasoline when that person or firm has a contract with the terminal operator for the use of storage facilities and terminaling services for gasoline at the terminal. The term includes a terminal operator who owns gasoline in the terminal.
(aa) "Rack" means a mechanism for delivering automotive gasoline from a refinery, a terminal or a bulk plant into a transport truck, a railroad tank car or another means of transfer that is outside the terminal transfer system.
(bb) "Refiner" means a person or firm that owns, operates or controls a refinery, wherever located.
(cc) "Refinery" means a facility used to process crude oil, unfinished oils, natural gas liquids or other hydrocarbons into automotive gasoline and from which automotive gasoline may be removed by pipeline or vessel or at a rack. The term does not include a facility that produces only blended fuel or gasohol.
(dd) "Removal" means a physical transfer other than by evaporation, loss or destruction. A physical transfer to a transport truck or another means of conveyance outside a terminal transfer system is complete upon delivery into the means of conveyance.
(ee) "Retail sale of automotive gasoline" means the sale for consumption, and not for resale, at a retail outlet serving the motoring public.
(ff) "Supplier" means:
(i) A position holder or a person or firm that receives automotive gasoline pursuant to a two-party exchange; or
(ii) A refiner.
(gg) "Terminal" means an automotive gasoline storage and distribution facility that has been assigned a terminal control number by the United States Internal Revenue Service, is supplied by pipeline or marine vessel and from which automotive gasoline may be removed at a rack.
(hh) "Terminal operator" means a person or firm that owns, operates or otherwise controls a terminal.
(ii) "Terminal transfer system" means an automotive gasoline distribution system consisting of refineries, pipelines, marine vessels and terminals. The term has the same meaning as "bulk transfer/terminal system" under 26 C.F.R. Section 48.4081-1.
(jj) "Two-party exchange" means a transaction in which automotive gasoline is transferred from one (1) licensed supplier to another licensed supplier under an exchange agreement under which the supplier who is the position holder agrees to deliver automotive gasoline to the other supplier or the other supplier's customer at the rack of the terminal at which the delivering supplier is the position holder.
(2) This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2013.
SECTION 3. Section 27-55-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
27-55-5. The words, terms and phrases as used in this article shall have the following meanings unless the context requires otherwise:
(a) "Gasoline" means:
(i) All products commonly or commercially known or sold as gasoline (excluding casinghead and absorption or natural gasoline) regardless of their classification or uses; and
(ii) Any liquid prepared, advertised, offered for sale or sold for use as or commonly and commercially used as a fuel in internal combustion engines, which when subjected to distillation in accordance with the standard method of test for distillation of gasoline, naphtha, kerosene and similar petroleum products (American Society for Testing Materials Designation D-86) shows not less than ten percent (10%) distilled (recovered) below two hundred sixty (260) degrees Fahrenheit and not less than ninety-five percent (95%) distilled (recovered) below four hundred sixty-four (464) degrees Fahrenheit.
The term "gasoline" shall include "aviation gasoline."
The term "gasoline" shall not include:
(i) Liquefied gases which would not exist as liquid at a temperature of sixty (60) degrees Fahrenheit and at a pressure of fourteen and seven-tenths (14.7) pounds per square inch absolute;
(ii) Commercial solvents or naphthas or raw petroleum products or petrochemicals intermediates when used as or sold for use in production or manufacture of plastics, detergents, synthetic rubber, herbicides or other chemicals or products which are not prepared, advertised, offered for sale or sold for use or suitable for use as fuel for generating power in internal combustion engines;
(iii) Racing gasoline.
(b) "Aviation gasoline" means gasoline refined or manufactured, according to the specifications for aviation gasoline set forth in ASTM D-910, for exclusive use in reciprocating aviation engines.
(c) "Person" means any individual, firm, copartnership, joint venture, association, corporation, estate, trust or any other group or combination acting as a unit, and the plural as well as the singular number unless the intention to give a more limited meaning is disclosed by the context.
(d) "Distributor of gasoline" means:
(i) Any person importing gasoline into this state;
(ii) Any person receiving, purchasing, acquiring, using, storing or selling any gasoline in this state on which the gasoline excise tax imposed by this article has not been paid;
(iii) Refiners, blenders, marine terminal operators or pipeline terminal operators; and
(iv) Any person licensed to sell gasoline in another state or jurisdiction who is authorized by that state or jurisdiction to collect the gasoline excise tax imposed by this article.
(e) "Highway" means every way or place, of whatever nature including public roads, toll roads, streets and alleys of this state generally open to the use of the public or to be opened or reopened to the use of the public for the purpose of vehicular travel, and notwithstanding that the same may be temporarily closed for the purpose of construction, reconstruction, maintenance or repair. The confines of a highway shall include the entire width and length of the right-of-way.
(f) "Refiner" means a person or firm that owns, operates or controls a refinery.
(g) "Bonded distributor of gasoline" means any person holding a valid gasoline distributor's permit issued by the department.
(h) "For agricultural or maritime purposes" means gasoline used:
(i) In operating farm tractors or other farm equipment used exclusively in plowing, planting or harvesting farm products, or in operating boats, and no part of which is used in any motor vehicle or equipment driven or operated upon the public roads, streets or highways of this state; and
(ii) As a fuel in a farm tractor using the highways solely in hauling or transporting farm products of the soil from the farm to a gin or market where the title to such products is still in the producer, or in transporting fertilizer or feed to the farm, where the title to such products is still in the user.
(i) "For industrial purposes" means gasoline used in engines or motors of stationary or portable type for the purpose of operating machinery used for manufacturing or used for industrial purposes, and no part of which machinery is driven or operated upon the public roads, streets or highways of this state.
(j) "For domestic purposes" means gasoline used for any other purpose than agricultural, maritime, industrial or manufacturing, and no part of which is used for operating motor vehicles or motor-propelled machines of any description along the public roads, streets, alleys or highways (as defined in this article) of this state.
(k) "For nonhighway purposes" means gasoline used for any other purpose than agricultural, maritime, industrial, manufacturing or domestic purposes, and no part of which is used for operating motor vehicles or motor-propelled machines of any description along the public roads, streets, alleys or highways (as defined in this article) of this state.
(l) "For aviation purposes" means gasoline used for the operation of aircraft.
(m) "Refund gasoline" means gasoline used or to be used for agricultural, maritime, industrial, manufacturing, domestic or nonhighway purposes only, as these terms are defined in this article.
(n) "Commission" or "department" means the Department of Revenue, acting either directly or through its duly authorized officers, agents or employees.
(o) "United States government" means and includes all purchasing officers of the Armed Forces of the United States and the United States Property and Fiscal Officer for the State of Mississippi or any other state appointed pursuant to Section 708, Title 32, United States Code, when purchasing gasoline with federal funds for the account of and use by a component of the Armed Forces as herein defined.
(p) "Armed Forces" means and includes all components of the Armed Forces of the United States including the Army National Guard, the Army National Guard of the United States, the Air National Guard and the Air National Guard of the United States, as those terms are defined in Section 101, Title 10, United States Code, and any other reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States enumerated in Section 261, Title 10, United States Code.
(q) "Blend stock" means ethanol, methanol or any other products blended with gasoline to produce motor fuel.
(r) "Blender" means a person or firm that produces blended fuel outside a terminal transfer system.
(s) "Racing gasoline" means gasoline manufactured exclusively for use in racing and gasoline containing lead, or having an octane rating of 105 or higher that is not suitable for use on the highways.
(t) "Automotive gasoline" means octane rated fuels made from petroleum products for use in the propulsion of motor vehicles.
(u) "Automotive gasoline dealer" or "gasoline dealer" means any person or firm engaged primarily in the retail sale of automotive gasoline and related products and services under a marketing agreement entered into with an automotive gasoline distributor.
(v) "Automotive gasoline distributor" or "gasoline distributor" means any person or firm engaged, whether as a jobber or supplier, in the sale, consignment or distribution of gasoline to automotive gasoline dealers under marketing agreements.
(w) "Blended fuel" means a mixture composed of automotive gasoline and another liquid, other than a de minimus amount of a product such as carburetor detergent or oxidation inhibitor, which can be used as a fuel in a motor vehicle.
(x) "Fuel alcohol" means alcohol or fuel grade ethanol.
(y) "Jobber" means an automotive gasoline distributor which is not a supplier.
(z) "Marketing agreement" or "agreement" means a written agreement, including a franchise, and all related written agreements between an automotive gasoline distributor and an automotive gasoline dealer under which the dealer is supplied automotive gasoline for retail sale, or an agreement between an automotive gasoline distributor and an automotive gasoline dealer under which the automotive gasoline dealer is granted the right to occupy premises owned, leased or controlled by the automotive gasoline distributor for the purpose of engaging in the retail sale of gasoline of the automotive gasoline distributor.
(aa) "Position holder" means a person or firm that holds the inventory position in automotive gasoline in a terminal, as reflected on the records of the terminal operator. A person or firm holds the inventory position in automotive gasoline when that person or firm has a contract with the terminal operator for the use of storage facilities and terminaling services for gasoline at the terminal. The term includes a terminal operator who owns gasoline in the terminal.
(bb) "Rack" means a mechanism for delivering automotive gasoline from a refinery, a terminal or a bulk plant into a transport truck, a railroad tank car or another means of transfer that is outside the terminal transfer system.
(cc) "Refinery" means a facility used to process crude oil, unfinished oils, natural gas liquids or other hydrocarbons into automotive gasoline and from which automotive gasoline may be removed by pipeline or vessel or at a rack. The term does not include a facility that produces only blended fuel or gasohol.
(dd) "Removal" means a physical transfer other than by evaporation, loss or destruction. A physical transfer to a transport truck or another means of conveyance outside a terminal transfer system is complete upon delivery into the means of conveyance.
(ee) "Retail sale of automotive gasoline" means the sale for consumption, and not for resale, at a retail outlet serving the motoring public.
(ff) "Supplier" means:
(i) A position holder or a person or firm that receives automotive gasoline pursuant to a two-party exchange; or
(ii) A refiner.
(gg) "Terminal" means an automotive gasoline storage and distribution facility that has been assigned a terminal control number by the United States Internal Revenue Service, is supplied by pipeline or marine vessel and from which automotive gasoline may be removed at a rack.
(hh) "Terminal operator" means a person or firm that owns, operates or otherwise controls a terminal.
(ii) "Terminal transfer system" means an automotive gasoline distribution system consisting of refineries, pipelines, marine vessels and terminals. The term has the same meaning as "bulk transfer/terminal system" under 26 C.F.R. Section 48.4081-1.
(jj) "Two-party exchange" means a transaction in which automotive gasoline is transferred from one (1) licensed supplier to another licensed supplier under an exchange agreement under which the supplier who is the position holder agrees to deliver automotive gasoline to the other supplier or the other supplier's customer at the rack of the terminal at which the delivering supplier is the position holder.
SECTION 4. Section 27-55-527, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
27-55-527. (1) There shall not be included in the measure of the tax levied in this article any special fuel:
(a) Sold or delivered by a bonded distributor of special fuel to a second bonded distributor of special fuel within this state, but nothing in this exclusion shall exempt the second bonded distributor of special fuel from paying the tax unless the second bonded distributor of special fuel sells or delivers said special fuel to a third bonded distributor of special fuel, in which event the third bonded distr693
ibutor of special fuel shall be liable for the tax.
(b) Sold to the United States government for use of the Armed Forces only, and delivered in quantities of not less than four thousand (4,000) gallons.
(c) Delivered to a bonded warehouse for storage within this state for the United States Department of Interior.
(d) Exported to a destination beyond the borders of this state by a bonded distributor of special fuel when the tax on the special fuel has been paid or on which the tax liability imposed by this article has accrued against such bonded distributor.
(e) Imported by, or sold to, any refiner or processor in this state for the purpose of being refined or further processed.
(f) Sold or delivered to any person within this state to be used as a herbicide or as a solvent for insecticides, wood preservatives and like products, or when so used in a commercial process that they become a component part of any manufactured product or where used as a processing agent in the treatment of raw material in manufacturing any product.
(g) Sold or delivered to be used for test purposes at any regularly established testing laboratory in this state.
(h) Sold to be consumed as fuel by any boat, vessel, ship, towboat or dredgeboat, or sold to the holder of a Marine Dealers Permit for resale or distribution as fuel for a boat, vessel, ship, towboat or dredgeboat.
(i) Sold as bunker oil or sold to be used for the generation of heat in a firebox or furnace.
(j) Sold or delivered to be used for the purpose of generating electricity.
(k) Sold for use as fuel in a railroad locomotive when subject to the tax levied by Section 27-59-301 et seq.
(l) Sold or delivered in bond, or sold or delivered, to any person within a foreign-trade zone within this state and sold, used, consumed, distributed, stored or withdrawn from storage and used to propel aircraft on an international flight including any interim stops within the United States so long as the origin or ultimate destination of the aircraft is outside the United States and District of Columbia. As used in this paragraph, "foreign-trade zone" means a foreign-trade zone operated and maintained by a public or private corporation under the provisions of Sections 59-3-31 through 59-3-37.
(m) Sold or delivered to any person to be used as fuel alcohol for purposes authorized under Section 1 of this act.
(2) The exemptions set forth in paragraphs (f), (h), (i) and (j) of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to special fuel used in performing contracts for construction, reconstruction, maintenance or repairs, where those contracts are entered into with the State of Mississippi, any political subdivision of the State of Mississippi, or any department, agency or institution of the State of Mississippi or any political subdivision thereof.
(3) Evidence of exempt transactions provided in this section and the subsections thereof shall consist of copies of invoices, documents or any other evidence that may be required by the commission.
(4) Any person other than a bonded distributor of special fuel who has delivered or sold special fuel on which the tax has been paid by him to the vendor may, if the special fuel is subject to exemption under this article, assign his claim for exemption to any bonded distributor of special fuel in this state. The bonded distributor to whom the claim for exemption is assigned may deduct the amount of the tax exemption from his next special fuel report, provided the distributor furnishes evidence satisfactory to the commission that the claim for exemption is valid.
(5) (a) When special fuel is withdrawn from the storage tank of a refiner, processor, marine or pipeline terminal operator and the tax is paid on that special fuel and it or any part thereof cannot be delivered to a purchaser, the refiner, processor, marine or pipeline terminal operator may deduct the tax on all or that portion of the special fuel not delivered to a purchaser from its next special fuel distributor's tax report, if the refiner, processor, marine or pipeline terminal operator submits with the distributor's tax report, the following:
(i) A written report setting forth the reasons why the delivery could not be made;
(ii) Proof or evidence satisfactory to the commission that the tax in question had theretofore been paid to the commission; and
(iii) Proof or evidence satisfactory to the commission that the nondelivered special fuel was actually returned to the refinery, processor, marine or pipeline terminal from which it was taken for the purpose of delivering it to a purchaser.
(b) Immediately upon ascertainment by the refiner, processor, marine or pipeline terminal operator that the special fuel cannot be delivered, he or it shall immediately notify the commission of this fact and before moving his or its truck or other means of transporting the special fuel from the intended point of delivery. If the commission desires to inspect the truck or other means of conveyance, the refiner, processor, marine or pipeline terminal operator shall arrange for the inspection at that point or at any other point that may be designated by the commission.
(6) In order to claim exemptions provided for under this article, the distributor of special fuel must file claims therefor within three (3) years from the date of sale or delivery; otherwise, claims for those exemptions shall be disallowed.
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2010.
