PHILADELPHIA  -- Pennsylvania state officials and lobbyists called on lawmakers to pass a bill working its way through the state house that would establish a program to test gasoline quality.

Pennsylvania is one of four states that do not test octane levels in the gasoline consumers buy at the pump. “Today, when you pay for gas, you cannot be assured you’re getting what you paid for,” said Jack Wagner, Pennsylvania auditor general, to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Wagner called for passage of the bill before the legislature adjourned for the summer.

The call for stricter gasoline measures comes five months after an audit by Wagner’s office found that 20 percent of the state’s gas stations were not fully inspected. State law requires that each pump be checked annually to see if it dispenses the amount of gas indicated on the meter.

The audit also found that no octane checks had been done since 1999. Those checks were part of a pilot test that was never adopted permanently because it was found to be too expensive.

Authorities have found five cases of tainted gas sold in three Pennsylvania counties since February. Those findings spurred Wagner’s office, AAA Mid-Atlantic, and the Pennsylvania Gasoline Retailers Association to urge for passage of the bill.

The other states that do not require octane-rating inspections are Alaska, Nebraska and Ohio.

Some store owners, such as Jon Cordisio, an Exxon dealer, do occasional self-checks. “When we deliver the product, we’re hoping the quality is what the supplier said it is,” said Ross DiBono, executive director of the Pennsylvania Gasoline Retailers Association, to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The appropriations committee sent House Bill 684 to the full House this week, and it is scheduled for a vote Monday. A similar bill in the Senate has been pending in committee since April 10. No vote has been scheduled.