HONOLULU, May 5 (UPI) -- Hawaii has ended an experiment in controlling the cost of gasoline, with the Legislature suspending a price cap that had been in effect for eight months.
"The people out there didn't believe it was doing what it was supposed to do," Senate Vice President Donna Kim said.
Kim, a Democrat, blamed a complicated formula that left Hawaiians unable to determine if the cap was working, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported.
Rep. Hermina Morita, a Democrat and one of the strongest advocates for the cap, said there was "no political or public will" to keep it.
Republican lawmakers and Gov. Linda Lingle, also a Republican, opposed the gas cap when it was first introduced in 2001. But they said it was only when the cap took effect in August that the political tide turned against it.
"The gas cap has been in effect since last summer, and as predicted it has failed. It's not surprising because history shows and history tells us that price caps never work, never have worked, never will work," Rep. Mark Moses said.
