§ 192-c. Motor fuel standards and labelling; grade of diesel fuel;
alcohol content. 1. As used in this section, the following terms shall
have the following meanings:

a. "Co-solvent" means an alcohol with a higher molecular weight than
methanol which is blended with methanol to prevent phase separation in
gasoline.

b. "Diesel motor fuel" means any fuel sold in this state and for use
in diesel engines which is commercially known or offered for sale as
diesel motor fuel.

c. "Cetane rating" means the property of a diesel motor fuel expressed
as a number determined pursuant to a method adopted by the American
Society of Testing and Materials, concerning the fuel's ignition
properties.

d. "Gasoline" means any fuel sold in this state for use in internal
combustion engines which is commercially known or offered for sale as
gasoline.

e. "Refiner" means a person, firm or corporation who owns, leases,
operates, controls or supervises a commercial entity producing gasoline
or diesel motor fuel.

f. "Distributor" means any person, firm or corporation who purchases,
transports, stores or causes the transportation or storage of gasoline
or diesel motor fuel at any point between commercial entities.

g. "Reseller" means any person who purchases gasoline identified by
the corporate, trade or brand name of a refiner from such refiner or a
distributor and resells or transfers it to retailers or wholesale
purchaser-consumers displaying the refiner's brands, and whose assets or
facilities are not substantially owned, leased or controlled by such
refiner.

h. "Retailer" means a person, firm or corporation who owns, leases,
operates, controls or supervises a commercial entity at which gasoline
or diesel motor fuel is sold or offered for sale to the general public.

i. "Wholesale purchaser-consumer" means any organization that is an
ultimate consumer of gasoline and which purchases or obtains gasoline
from a supplier for use in motor vehicles and receives delivery of that
product into a storage tank which has a capacity of five hundred fifty
gallons or more and is substantially under the control of that
organization.

j. "Ultimate purchaser" means the first person who purchases gasoline
for purposes other than resale.

2. No refiner, distributor, reseller or retailer shall transfer, sell,
dispense or offer any grade of diesel motor fuel for sale in this state
unless said diesel motor fuel meets the standards and specifications
established for such product by regulations promulgated by the
commissioner or by the commissioner of environmental conservation, after
due notice and public hearing. No refiner, distributor, reseller or
retailer shall transfer, sell, dispense or offer gasoline for sale in
this state unless said gasoline meets the standards and specifications,
other than those relating to octane and lead content, established for
such product by regulations promulgated by the commissioner or by the
commissioner of environmental conservation, after due notice and public
hearing.

3. a. A refiner, distributor or reseller shall not transfer, sell or
dispense gasoline for sale in this state without delivering to the
purchaser a bill, invoice or other instrument evidencing the transaction
which shall indicate:

(i) the presence of methanol and co-solvent, each as a percentage of
the total volume, if the quantity of methanol exceeds three-tenths of
one percent; and

(ii) the presence of ethanol, as a percentage of the total volume, if
such quantity exceeds one percent of the total volume.

b. A refiner, distributor or reseller shall not transfer, sell or
dispense diesel motor fuel in this state without delivering to the
purchaser a bill, invoice or other instrument evidencing the transaction
which shall indicate the grade of such diesel motor fuel.

c. For the purposes of this section, the instrument evidencing the
transaction shall be on such form as may be required by the
commissioner. The commissioner shall consult with the department of
taxation and finance and to the extent practicable, the form used for
certification of prepayment of the sales tax and payment of motor fuel
tax shall be modified and adapted for this purpose, such that said form
shall indicate the brand, type and quality of each product delivered.

4. a. A refiner, distributor or reseller shall not transfer, sell,
dispense, or offer gasoline or diesel motor fuel for sale in this state
to a retailer unless the refiner, distributor or reseller provides to
the retailer the materials necessary to comply with the posting
requirements contained in this section.

b. It shall be a defense to any violation of paragraph a of this
subdivision that a refiner, distributor or reseller, if acting in good
faith, had reasonable cause to believe that the retailer had the
materials necessary to comply with the posting requirements contained in
this section. No common carrier shall be held liable for any violation
of paragraph a of this subdivision to the extent that the materials
necessary to comply with such posting requirements were not transferred
to him or her or his or her agent along with such gasoline or diesel
motor fuel.

c. Each retailer shall record, for each day during which gasoline or
diesel motor fuel is sold or offered for sale to the general public the
cumulative gallon meter readings for each retail petroleum dispensing
device and the volume contained in each gasoline and diesel motor fuel
storage tank. These records shall be maintained for a period of one
year.

5. a. A retailer or reseller shall not transfer, sell, dispense or
offer gasoline for sale in this state if it contains more than:

(i) one percent by total volume of ethanol unless the retail petroleum
dispensing device displays a sign with at least one-quarter inch block
letters on a contrasting background, reading "Contains.....% Ethanol",
the blank being filled in with the maximum percentage of ethanol in the
gasoline; and

(ii) three-tenths of one percent of total volume of methanol unless
the retail petroleum dispensing device displays a sign with at least
one-quarter inch block letters on a contrasting background reading
"Contains.....% Methanol" and "Contains.....% Co-Solvent", the blanks
being filled in with the maximum percentage of methanol and minimum
percentage of co-solvent in the gasoline.

b. A retailer shall not transfer, sell, dispense or offer diesel motor
fuel for sale in this state unless the retail petroleum dispensing
device displays a sign disclosing the grade.

6. No refiner, distributor, reseller or retailer shall store, sell,
transfer, dispense or offer for sale gasoline or diesel motor fuel in
this state without having in his or her possession a copy of the bill,
invoice, or other written instrument evidencing the transaction by which
such refiner, distributor, reseller or retailer came into possession of
the gasoline or diesel motor fuel; provided, however, that this
requirement shall not apply to refiners with respect to gasoline or
diesel motor fuel which such refiner has produced from crude oil.

7. a. Except as otherwise provided, any retailer, reseller or
distributor charged with a violation under this section may plead and
prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the violation was not
caused by him or her or his or her agent or employee as an affirmative
defense to such charge.

b. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a common
carrier transporting gasoline or diesel motor fuel shall be deemed to be
liable under the provisions of subdivision two of this section only if
it is proved by a preponderance of the evidence that a violation was
caused by him or her or his or her agent or employee.

8. a. The commissioner or his authorized representative, upon
presentation of appropriate credentials, shall have the right to enter
during regular business hours upon or through the premises or property
of any refiner, distributor, reseller or retailer, and shall have the
right to make inspections, take samples of gasoline and diesel motor
fuel being stored, offered for sale or in the process of being delivered
or transported, and conduct tests during normal business hours to
determine compliance with this section.

b. The commissioner may require a refiner, distributor, reseller or
retailer to report information regarding the receipt, transfer, delivery
or sale of gasoline and diesel motor fuel and to allow the reproduction
of that information except that the refiner, distributor, reseller or
retailer shall not be required to provide information not maintained in
the normal course of business, except as otherwise required in this
section. A refiner, distributor, reseller or retailer shall preserve
information regarding the receipt, transfer, delivery, or sale of
gasoline and diesel motor fuel for one year.

9. Any refiner, distributor, reseller or retailer who or which
violates this section shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed
ten thousand dollars for each violation, and for the first violation not
to be less than two hundred fifty dollars, and for the second violation
not to be less than one thousand dollars. In the case of a violation
through continuing failure to comply with any of the provisions of this
section, or any rules or regulations promulgated thereunder, each day of
the continuance of such failure shall be treated as a separate
violation. Provided, however, that the penalty for any violation of
paragraph c of subdivision four of this section for failure to keep the
required records shall be a maximum two hundred dollar civil penalty for
the first violation, and a maximum four hundred dollar civil penalty for
the second and subsequent violations. A right of action for the recovery
of a liability for the civil penalties incurred as provided in this
section may be released, settled or compromised by the commissioner or
the director of a municipal consumer affairs office or a municipal
director of weights and measures before the matter is referred to the
attorney general as provided in section forty-four of this chapter, or
by the attorney for the municipality, as the case may be, and thereafter
may be released, settled or compromised by the attorney general or the
attorney for the municipality, as the case may be, either before or
after an action is brought to recover such penalty. The commissioner or
a director of a municipal consumer affairs office or a municipal
director of weights and measures may apply to a court of appropriate
jurisdiction for an injunction to restrain any person subject to the
provisions of this section from the further violation of such provisions
or for such other relief as the court deems proper. Any plaintiff
seeking such relief shall not be required to furnish security and the
costs of the application may be granted in the discretion of the court.
The provisions of sections thirty-nine, forty and forty-one of this
chapter shall not apply to a violation described in this subdivision.

10. Whenever the commissioner or an authorized representative of the
commissioner shall find that a refiner, distributor, reseller or
retailer has transferred, sold, dispensed or offered gasoline or diesel
motor fuel for sale in this state in violation of this section, such
commissioner or his authorized representative may exercise any remedies
authorized by section one hundred eighty-five of this article. Any
refiner, distributor, reseller or retailer violating an order issued
pursuant to this subdivision shall be subject to an additional civil
penalty not to exceed five thousand dollars, notwithstanding the penalty
provisions of section forty of this chapter which shall not apply to a
violation of such order.

11. The provisions of this section and the regulations promulgated
hereunder may be enforced concurrently by the director of a municipal
consumer affairs office and/or a municipal director of weights and
measures. Notwithstanding the provisions of section forty-five of this
chapter, all moneys collected hereunder shall be retained by the
municipality.

12. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit or restrict the
authority of the commissioner of environmental conservation to adopt
rules and regulations that affect the composition, storage, transport,
handling or commerce of petroleum products for the purpose of preventing
or decreasing pollution pursuant to the environmental conservation law.

13. The commissioner shall have the authority to promulgate such rules
and regulations as the commissioner shall deem necessary to effectuate
the purposes of this section, consistent with its provisions.