Paying the price at the pump

Business was booming Wednesday night at area gas stations, as Bloomington residents filled up their tanks tax-free one last time.\nMotorists throughout Indiana are paying 5 to 6 cents more per gallon today for regular unleaded gasoline, following Thursday's lifting of the state gas tax suspension.\nSophomore Betsy Warburton was one of many looking to save some cash by making a last minute run for gas.\n"I wanted to make sure to fill up my tank while prices are still low," she said. "Hopefully prices won't be as high again as they were this summer."\nBruce Brummett, owner of two Bloomington Marathon gas stations, said Wednesday was unusually crowded.\n"(Wednesday) was a really busy day," he said. "We sold several thousand gallons more than Tuesday." \nGov. Frank O'Bannon initially suspended the gas tax July 1 after a shortage of crude oil caused gas prices to skyrocket throughout Indiana and the Midwest, said Cheryl Reed, O'Bannon's deputy press secretary.\nReed said two triggers allowed the governor to authorize the gas tax suspension.\n"Indiana was at an economic disadvantage in June," she said. "Prices in Indiana and the Midwest were disproportionately higher than the rest of country.\n"The second trigger was that we had a shortage in the supplies on hand, as well as a problem with the availability. We had a problem with a pipeline that was causing a problem getting crude oil in the Midwest. We also had a shortage of supplies."\nO'Bannon extended the suspension twice after July 1. Under a 1981 state energy law, the governor can suspend transportation regulations in energy emergencies for up to 120 days without legislative approval. Wednesday was the 120th day.\nState Senator Larry Borst, R-Indianapolis, has criticized O'Bannon's tax suspension. He said O'Bannon was using the suspension to boost his chances for re-election this fall.\nO'Bannon has denied the claim, saying he would have taken the same action earlier in his term if the same conditions had arisen.\nBefore O'Bannon suspended the tax in July, gas prices had risen as much as 50 cents in some areas in the Midwest, nearly five times the national average.\nPrices for regular unleaded gasoline in the Midwest averaged $1.559 Tuesday, and the national average was $1.551, according to U.S. Department of Energy statistics. \nBrummett said he hasn't seen any appreciable decline in business since the tax was reinstated.\nThe Associated Press contributed to this article.