A bill to provide tax credits for producers of ethanol in the State of Oklahoma passed the Senate Monday afternoon. House Bill 1556, authored by Sen. David Myers and Rep. Mike Jackson, will encourage companies to build ethanol facilities in the state.

Under provisions of the bill, an ethanol plant could not be eligible for tax credits until the plant had been operating for six months at 25-percent of capacity.

"A recent Oklahoma Department of Agriculture and Forestry feasibility study indicated a very positive economic impact to the state," explained Myers, R-Ponca City. "An ethanol plant that produces 40 million gallons of ethanol per year would cost around $60 million to build. That is a significant infusion of capital into the state."

A facility in this price range would use around $6.8 million per year of Oklahoma natural gas and $2 million of electricity. It would have total sales in the neighborhood of $68 million per year. A plant of this size would also create 40 direct jobs and over 1,000 indirect employment opportunities in production, trucking, contracting and related areas.

Currently, there are no ethanol facilities in Oklahoma but surrounding states continue to build more facilities each year. Kansas has four ethanol facilities, while up to 30 can be found in Iowa and Nebraska combined.

"This bill will also affect every Oklahoman by providing a small decrease in price at the pump if manufacturers at these facilities begin mixing ethanol and gasoline - a common practice in other states," said Myers.

For more information contact:
Senate Communications Office- (405) 521-5698