A California bill that would have established specific standards for biodiesel blends at the pump and set up a voluntary carbon dioxide content labeling program reportedly died in committee in late May.

Kent Bullard, maintenance supervisor at Channel Islands National Park, had been closely following the legislation and told Biodiesel Magazine on May 27 that the bill was "caught up in appropriations" and had "died in committee."

"Unless it gets attached to something else, it doesn't look hopeful that it will pass this year," Bullard said. "Maybe it will be brought up again in the fall session. There's still a lot of support for the bill."

The bill, which was in many ways a reaction to the California Division of Measurement Standards' proposed fuel specifications and pump labeling requirements for biodiesel and biodiesel-blended fuel, would have provided standards that many biodiesel proponents find favorable. For example, the bill called for biodiesel blends of B6 to B20 to meet the specifications of ASTM D-6751 and allowed for a 10 degree Fahrenheit increase in distillation temperature.

"Perhaps most importantly, the bill defined what biodiesel is," Bullard said.

For now, Californians will have to live with the requirements outlined by the state, which call for all finished biodiesel blends to meet ASTM D975 specifications and requires retailers to "caution" consumers that biodiesel blends may not be suitable for use in all diesel engines, something the National Biodiesel Board calls misleading.