gas

As reports abound of gas prices rocketing upwards overnight in the state, Governor Steve Beshear (D-Lexington) declared a state of emergency this afternoon in an effort to stop price gouging.

"I am outraged by the voracious practices of price gouging we are seeing," said Beshear in a statement. "Today, I have taken an extraordinary step to protect the consumers of the commonwealth from these predators."

Beshear is said to be partnering with Attorney General Jack Conway (D-Louisville) in the effort, which comes in advance of the expected spike in prices following the landfall of Hurricane Ike in Texas.

"We have received an overwhelming influx of reports from across Kentucky regarding gasoline price spikes and even rationing," said Conway. "I felt it was important to get the price gouging protections in place as soon as possible to protect the commonwealth's consumers and businesses."

Following Beshear's order, Conway will be able to investigate and prosecute claims of predatory pricing amid the expected weather emergency in the Gulf Coast.

State Sen. John Boccieri (D-Alliance) responded to the news that conservative advocacy group Freedom's Watch would be running radio ads against him over the next several weeks that hit him on the issue of inaction to lower gas prices, just as robocalls from the group did last month.

The Boccieri camp said that the group is blaming Boccieri for high gas prices that he opposed.

"I thank Freedom's Watch for giving me one more chance to tell people about my fight against Ohio gas tax increases and my plan to immediately lower fuel costs," Boccieri said in response to the ad. "I'm just wondering when they'll finally get around to having voters call Kirk Schuring and ask him why he raised their gas taxes."

The reference is to Schuring's vote to support the 2003 transportation bill that included a 2-cent raise in the state gas tax each year for three years, making a total 6-cent raise in Ohio's gas tax. The measure was supported by former Ohio Gov. Bob Taft and a plurality of Republican members of the state legislature at the time. The gas tax was one part of an overall $5.9 billion transportation package.

America's energy problems have become a highlighted campaign issue over the past several weeks. When both presidential campaigns came to Ohio last week, Republican and Democrats alike held press conference calls to tussle over the energy issue.

One aspect that has been brought up to help solve the energy problem is cracking down on speculators, who may be artificially driving up the price of oil.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Lorain County) co-sponsored legislation this week designed to do just that.

Brown announced Thursday that he is a co-sponsor of the "Stop Excessive Energy Speculation Act of 2008." This legislation would give the federal regulator of futures markets the resources to detect, prevent, and punish price manipulation and excessive speculation.

"We need to provide immediate relief to consumers struggling with high energy costs," Brown said in a statement. "Instead of sound bite solutions, we must act to lower gas prices now. We need to put Ohio families ahead of oil speculators. Going after excessive speculation would bring immediate relief to American consumers."