MONTGOMERY — Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday directed the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to stop prioritizing dyed-diesel checks during commercial-motor-vehicle inspections for the next 120 days, citing sharply higher diesel prices that have hit the state’s agricultural and timber industries during peak harvest.
Dyed diesel — the red, tax-exempt fuel normally reserved for off-road equipment such as tractors, harvesters, and logging machinery — is chemically the same as clear on-road diesel except for the dye that marks it as untaxed. State law and federal rules generally bar its use in licensed highway vehicles. Ivey’s letter to ALEA Secretary Hal Taylor instructed the agency to focus instead on inspections that address threats to public safety. The change took effect immediately.
“The increase in diesel fuel prices has been particularly sharp relative to other fuel prices, directly affecting Alabama’s agricultural and timber industries,” Ivey wrote. “In response to these extraordinary circumstances, I am requesting that the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) and other enforcement agencies temporarily adjust its enforcement priorities concerning the use of dyed diesel fuel.”Alabama’s harvest season runs through mid-November. Ivey said the pause is a “measured, doable and commonsense action” to support farmers and timber operators. Taylor said ALEA would implement the directive while keeping its focus on roadway safety.
Ivey also instructed Revenue Commissioner Mary Martin Mitchell to request penalty relief from the Internal Revenue Service. Federal law is unchanged. Using dyed diesel in a licensed highway vehicle remains tax evasion. The IRS penalty is the greater of $1,000 or $10 per gallon (higher for repeat violations), plus any unpaid tax. No federal waiver has been granted. Inspectors from other states and federal agencies are not bound by the Alabama directive.
On Alabama roads for the next four months, state troopers are far less likely to dip tanks during CMV inspections. The relief is aimed at agricultural and timber operators during harvest, not a general invitation for every commercial truck or car. Anyone using dyed fuel in a highway vehicle still faces possible IRS action or checks by agencies that do not follow Ivey’s memo.
