Arizona Alt-fuel Sticker Shock.

• Position: State government financial information - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

An eleventh-hour addendum to end-of-session environmental legislation has cost Arizona government $483 million, an amount equal to 8 percent of the stare's annual budget. The bill was intended to provide rebates and tax credits for owners of vehicles that run on propane and natural gas. Unfortunately, it contained loopholes so glaring that 22,000 Arizonans applied for the rebate between July and October, up from 130 applicants for an electric-fuel rebate the previous year. A one-year moratorium was enacted by the state in order to stop the hemorrhaging. The Arizona Senate Finance Committee Chair asserts that $440 million of the lost revenue could be saved, should...