It is time for people to stop assuming the worst in lawmakers intentions and realize the benefits staring them in the face.
The bill does not mandate that retailers stop labeling, it just gives them the option. The fact is, the label was meant to be a promotion with the idea that people would seek out the 10 percent blend to help the local farmer. That has not happened. While states like Iowa use a promotional sticker that reads "cleaner air for Iowa with Ethanol", Michigan's is more of a sterile warning, reading "Contains Ethanol, 10 percent". Many people are afraid of putting it in their cars, often confusing it with methanol, which will damage cars. Today's ethanol is much more refined than the ethanol being produced when the label requirement was instituted. Today, most car companies promote using ethanol in their cars. Removing the label is not a matter of trying to pull the wool over the consumer's eyes, it is a matter of allowing retailers the freedom to blend up octane levels using ethanol when the price is right and not use it when it isn't. Currently, gas stations that use the blend always have to use it b/c they can't have the MDA come out and remove the sticker when the price isn't right. Of course, the costs are passed on to the consumer. At least 3 other states including Minnesota, which mandates a 10 percent blend, have eliminated the sticker and had no problems with engine performance of any kind. Now is the best time for this legislation, as it reduces the reliance on foreign oil, is better for the environment, and gives farmers a much needed shot in the arm.