Farmers and truckers on both sides of the Red River can now run red-dyed diesel in vehicles on public roads, after the governors of Texas and Oklahoma moved on Sept. 28 to relax enforcement as diesel prices sit near record highs.
Red-dyed fuel is meant for off-road use, usually burned in tractors and other farm equipment, and it is sold without the motor fuel tax. Because of that, state law normally bars it from highways.
What Texas changed
Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statewide disaster proclamation that suspends the state restrictions and penalties on using dyed diesel on Texas roads. His office said the order does not waive the fuel tax itself.
The order also sets aside state permits for oversize and overweight loads of fuel, crops and timber, letting those trucks run at up to 95,000 pounds gross. Separately, the governor wrote to the EPA seeking a temporary break from the federal ultra-low sulfur standard and from the state's low-emission diesel program, which covers 110 counties.
"Texas agriculture and freight run on diesel," Abbott said, adding that record prices raise costs "for every Texas family." Under state law, a governor's disaster declaration lasts 30 days unless it is renewed.
What Oklahoma changed
Gov. Kevin Stitt directed the Oklahoma Tax Commission, Department of Public Safety and Corporation Commission to pause enforcement of taxes, regulations and fines on dyed diesel in farm vehicles for 120 days. He also told the tax commission to seek penalty relief from the IRS, since federal fuel tax rules are separate from state rules.
