RICHMOND, Va. –- Virginia Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association President Michael J. O Connor has challenged Sheetz, Inc. President Stan Sheetz to a public debate within the next two weeks on the merits of the state’s proposed below-cost selling law.
Sheetz, Inc. has opposed the proposed legislation, which attempts to prevent retailers from selling gasoline at a price below that which it is available to other retailers in the market. An earlier version of the bill would have prohibited the sale of gasoline at a retail price that is below the published Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) low threshold in the region. But following testimony by a Sheetz representative, who said the chain is capable of buying gasoline at a lower price than that published by OPIS, the bill was re-written to include the phrase “lowest available price.” Sheetz Inc. continues to oppose the legislation.
In a letter to Sheetz earlier this week, O’Connor asked for a response to the request no later than today. “Should Sheetz continue to oppose this legislation, the only reason to do so would be to sell below cost, which is in direct variance from the testimony presented by your spokesperson last Monday,” O’Connor wrote. “Should Sheetz continue to oppose this amended bill, we believe that it is in the interest of all Virginia consumers to know why.”
According to O’Connor, Sheetz employees in Virginia have been instructed to ask their customers to sign postcards, to which Sheetz then affixes stamps to and mails to state legislators saying they oppose the bill because it will. The postcards, according to O’Connor, claim the legislation will ban the sale of low-cost gasoline; force retailers to charge a minimum price for gasoline; and artificially increase gasoline prices.
Proponents of the legislation cite the ability of small retailers to compete in the retail gasoline business. According to several state legislators supporting the bill, the below-cost sale of gasoline has resulted in the closure of independent gasoline retailers, limiting options for motorists in some rural locations.
In an informal poll of CSP Daily News readers yesterday, 30.8 percent agreed legislation is the best way to tackle the issue of below-cost pricing. Meanwhile, while 23.1 percent said legislation was the only way to deal with the issue, another 23.1 percent said they did not agree with bringing additional governmental regulation into the business (responses as of yesterday evening).
Following hearings before a state Senate committee last week, the bill, Virginia Senate Bill 458, passed the state Senate 23-12 and moved on to the state House of Delegates, where it will be taken up in mid-February.
