Councilman Fighting RFG Mandate

Louisville Metro Councilman Doug Hawkins’ latest legislation takes aim at high gas prices.Hawkins says the requirement that Louisville use cleaner burning reformulated gasoline, or RFG, is driving prices up by as much as twenty five cents per gallon. He wants Governor Steve Beshear to opt out of the RFG program for Louisville that was imposed by the state in the 1990s as a way to meet federal air pollution guidelines.Hawkins is proposing a resolution to that effect in the Metro Council and gathering signatures on petition to send to the governor.If that happens, Hawkins says he’d be ready to find new ways for the city to meet federal emission guidelines.“There are other options we’d have to put into place but I don’t think they’re as terrible or as draconian as having to pay extra for the reformulated gasoline," he says.Attorney General Jack Conway is currently investigating gas prices in Louisville, and he says RFG is only responsible for five to ten cents of the total cost of a gallon of gas.Hawkins is running for state Senate in the fall election, but says the actions are not an effort to boost his candidacy.