State legislatures across the country are considering bills to promote the production and use of alternative fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. In a story in the Beatrice (NE) Daily Sun, the National Biodiesel Board says 35 states have a total of 135 biodiesel-related bills pending… including one in Nebraska that would pay producers 30 cents for every gallon of biodiesel sold in the state.

State Sen. Cap Dierks’s bill (LB626) could end up shelling out $20 million each year… if Nebraska gets moving on its biodiesel industry. Unlike its commitment to ethanol, the state is not producing much ethanol… yet. There’s a 50-million-gallon-a-year plant being built near Beatrice.

By the way, the NBB says there about 10 states with production incentive legislation like the one proposed by Dierks.