AUGUSTA – Members of the Legislature’s State and Local Government Committee unanimously voted Friday against a bill that would have required state government agencies to use biodiesel fuel instead of gasoline or No. 2 heating oil to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Proponents of LD 197 had argued that biodiesel fuel is a clean-burning alternative to fossil fuels since it is produced from domestic renewable resources. Critics countered there would be supply and delivery problems with biodiesel and that the bill contained no incentives for the local production of biodiesel fuel.

Four states – Missouri, Kansas, North Carolina and Washington – already have a law requiring the use of biodiesel fuel in state vehicles. Legislative analysts estimated that LD 197 would cost the state nearly $1.1 million more in fuel costs if adopted as proposed. If the University of Maine System and Community College System also were included in the mandate, those costs would increase by about $2.6 million annually.

Members of the committee also were reminded that a pre-existing piece of legislation requires the Energy Resources Council to return a study on the state’s energy policy options and that biodiesel alternatives could be included in that report.

Elaine Clark, director of the state’s Bureau of General Services, told the committee that significant criteria related to how biodiesel would be stored, transported and dispensed could be addressed in the council’s report to give lawmakers the kind of detailed information necessary for an informed decision.

“Quality control and training of suppliers [for biodiesel fuel] is an integral part of the study, and we just want to make sure that happens,” she said.