As Introduced
136th General Assembly
Regular Session S. B. No. 80
2025-2026
Senators Ingram, Blackshear
Cosponsor: Senator Craig
A B I L L
To amend section 1327.70 of the Revised Code to
authorize a county to implement a motor fuel
quality testing program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That section 1327.70 of the Revised Code be
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 1327.70. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Biodiesel" and "blended biodiesel" have the same
meanings as in section 125.831 of the Revised Code.
"Conventional fuel" means gasoline and diesel fuel.
"Diesel fuel" has the same meaning as in section 5735.01
of the Revised Code.
(2) "Ethanol extended fuel" means a mixture of gasoline
and ethanol.
"Fuel inspector" means a county auditor or any person who
is designated by the county auditor to perform motor fuel
quality testing under this section.
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"Motor fuel" means gasoline or diesel any of the following
types of fuel that is sold by a retailer retail dealer:
(1) Conventional fuel;
(2) Biodiesel or blended biodiesel fuel;
(3) Ethanol extended fuel.
"Retail dealer" has the same meaning as in section 5735.01
of the Revised Code.
"Retail service station" has the same meaning as in
section 5735.01 of the Revised Code .
(B) The director of agriculture may adopt rules in
accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code establishing a
motor fuel quality testing program that is uniform throughout
the state.
(C)(1) Unless a motor fuel quality testing program is
established in rules under division (B) of this section, is
funded, and is implemented by the department of agriculture, a
county auditor may implement a motor fuel quality testing
program in the auditor's county whereby a fuel inspector may
test motor fuel quality for octane level, sediment, and water in
the fuel. No fuel inspector shall charge any inspection or
registration fees to perform motor fuel quality testing.
(2) Except as provided in this division, a county auditor
who implements a motor fuel quality testing program under this
section shall acquire testing equipment or ensure that testing
equipment is available for the county's program. The county
auditor shall ensure that the testing equipment meets the most
recent standards established by the American society for testing
and materials (ASTM) international. A county auditor may
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contract with another county to use that county's testing
equipment so long as the contract provides that the testing is
performed by a fuel inspector from the county that owns the
testing equipment. A county auditor shall not allow the county's
testing equipment to be used in any other county for fuel
quality testing purposes unless a fuel inspector for the county
that owns the equipment is conducting the testing.
(D) If a county auditor implements a fuel quality testing
program under this section, a retail dealer in the applicable
county shall do all of the following when requested by a fuel
inspector:
(1) Allow the fuel inspector to test the octane level and
sediment from the retail dealer's motor fuel pumps;
(2) Allow the fuel inspector to test the water and
sediment in the retail dealer's motor fuel storage tanks;
(3) Allow the fuel inspector to pump a sample of motor
fuel, free of charge and in containers provided by the fuel
inspector, in an amount required by the fuel inspector for
testing.
(E) A fuel inspector shall do all of the following when
performing motor fuel quality testing:
(1) Use testing equipment that meets the most recent
standards established by the American society for testing and
materials (ASTM) international;
(2) Adhere to any standard or guideline set forth by the
director of agriculture, in accordance with division (F)(3) of
this section, relating to petroleum product quality and sampling
and testing methods that are consistent with the ASTM;
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(3) Except as otherwise provided in division (E)(2) of
this section, adhere to the following motor fuel quality testing
compliance standards:
(a) Fuel storage tanks shall not exceed one-quarter inch
of water for ethanol extended fuel and shall not exceed two
inches of water for conventional fuel.
(b) Gasoline and ethanol extended fuel octane levels
tested at the pump shall be within one octane point of the
octane level listed on the pump.
(c) Gasoline and ethanol extended fuel tested at the pump,
per ASTM requirements, shall be visually free of undissolved
water, sediment, and suspended matter and shall be clear and
bright at either an ambient temperature or seventy degrees
Fahrenheit, whichever is higher.
(d) Diesel fuel tested at the pump shall meet the
standards defined by the ASTM.
(F)(1) For a violation of a motor fuel quality standard
detected at a retail service station, a fuel inspector shall
issue to the applicable retail dealer an order to stop selling
fuel until the fuel is in compliance with this section as
determined by the fuel inspector.
(2) A fuel inspector, when issuing an order to stop
selling fuel under division (F)(1) of this section, may impose a
civil penalty on the retail dealer in accordance with rules
adopted by the director of agriculture under division (F)(3) of
this section. If the director does not adopt such rules, the
county auditor shall not adopt civil penalties for that county.
All civil penalties collected under division (F)(2) of this
section shall be deposited into the applicable county general
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fund.
(3) For purposes of a county auditor-implemented motor
fuel quality testing program, the director of agriculture may
adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code
establishing civil penalties for violations of motor fuel
quality standards. The rules shall include procedures by which a
retail dealer may appeal a civil penalty.
(G) A fuel inspector shall transmit data collected from
motor fuel quality testing to the director of agriculture. The
director shall compile such data, including dates, locations,
and results received from fuel inspectors, and make the data
accessible to the public via the department of agriculture's web
site.
(H) Any county that lawfully implemented a motor fuel
quality testing program prior to the effective date of this
section is exempt from divisions (C) to (F) of this section.
Such a county may continue to implement the motor fuel quality
testing program as that program existed prior to the effective
date of this section.
(I) Whenever the department of agriculture is notified of
a United States environmental protection agency waiver of
standards that applies to federal fuel standards, the department
shall notify every county auditor's office. Any auditor
participating in a fuel quality testing program under this
section, or a fuel quality testing program implemented prior to
the effective date of this section, shall only test for water
and sediment during the waiver period.
Section 2. That existing section 1327.70 of the Revised
Code is hereby repealed.
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