Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski helped push biofuel tax breaks through the earlier Legislature, along with a prerequisite that Oregon’s gasoline contain 10% ethanol. That requirement kicked in statewide in January 2009.
In 2008, the Legislature created exemptions that permitted the sale of clear gasoline without ethanol for boats, power tools, aircraft and other uses. But opponents of the ethanol standard said too few stations supply ethanol-free gasoline to make the exemptions practical.