HARRISBURG — The state Senate approved legislation on Wednesday designed to end a “hidden” tax that increases the cost of gasoline for Western Pennsylvanians, according to state Sen. Elder Vogel, R-47th, the primary sponsor of the measure.

Senate Bill 1037 eliminates requirements for low Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) gasoline in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties during the summer. This “summer gas” is routinely more expensive than gasoline sold in the rest of Pennsylvania and in Ohio and West Virginia, according to Vogel’s release.

The bill now goes to the state House.

Since 1999, the state Department of Environmental Protection and federal Environmental Protection Agency have required that gasoline sold between May 1 and Sept. 15 in the seven-county Pittsburgh area have a RVP of 7.8 psi. Regular gas has an RVP of 9.

“This means that people in a seven-county area of Western Pennsylvania often pay 10 to 15 cents more per gallon for gas than those in neighboring counties and just across the border in Ohio,” Vogel said in a statement.

“Basically, the RVP regulation is nothing more than a hidden tax, not only at the pump but also on goods and services.”