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TAMPA Gasoline prices are inching downward as several developments, including the end of the summer driving season, appear to be calming the fears of energy markets. Oil industry experts say motorists should expect gasoline prices to plateau and moderate slightly as the supply of oil and gasoline continues to improve. Meanwhile, state Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson subpoenaed 19 oil companies in his office's expanding price-gouging investigation. He said the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services hot line had received "a flood of calls" in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and spiking gasoline prices. In the Tampa Bay area, the average price of a gallon of self-serve, regular unleaded gasoline sat at $2.99 Tuesday, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report. John Felmy, chief economist with the American Petroleum Institute, said future and wholesale gasoline prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange have stopped rising because of significant improvement in the supply of oil and gasoline. On Tuesday, a barrel of light crude settled at $65.85, down $1.61, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude futures, which briefly topped $70 a barrel last week, fell $1.90 on Friday, when industrialized nations announced plans to supply the United States with 2 million barrels a day of crude oil, gasoline and diesel -- roughly equivalent to 10 percent of its daily demand. Among the positive signs cited by Felmy: • Four refineries closed by Katrina are restarting. • Two gasoline pipelines from the Gulf Coast to the East Coast are operating again. • A crude oil pipeline to the Midwest is back in service. • The Louisiana Offshore Oil Platform, the only place in the United States where oil supertankers dock, is operating again. Jim Smith, president and chief executive officer of the Florida Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association, said drivers still might find wide disparities in gasoline prices. Some stations must use up high-priced gasoline bought on the spot market, while others have replenished supplies with less-expensive, name-brand gasoline, he said. Motorists should find only spotty outages. Smith said those outages were caused by retailers who didn't purchase gasoline after tiring of being accused of price gouging or because they couldn't afford the high prices themselves. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection said Tuesday there were more than 138 million gallons of fuel stored in Florida. Over the next nine days, 40 ships will deliver 191 million gallons more, the department said. DEP Secretary Colleen M. Castille urged Floridians to continue to purchase and use fuel responsibly. Meanwhile, Bronson's price-gouging subpoenas ranged from small independents to the giants ExxonMobil, Amerada Hess and Chevron. He is seeking records from 19 oil companies with terminals in Florida. Under Florida law, it is illegal to charge excessive prices for essential items, including gasoline, during an emergency unless the increase reflects additional costs incurred by the seller. Also in Tallahassee, state Senate Democratic leaders called on Gov. Jeb Bush to suspend the state gas tax. The governor said his office is studying whether he has the power to issue an executive order without the Legislature's intervention. Sens. Les Miller of Tampa and Walter "Skip" Campbell of Coral Springs asked Bush to invoke his emergency powers to suspend the tax, now about 21 cents on every gallon sold. "The state of our economy is tightly tied to the ability of our citizens to purchase needed fuel," Miller said. Georgia recently suspended its gasoline tax collections. The Florida Legislature created a one-month gas tax holiday here in August 2004. Bronson also warned Tuesday that stations with older gas pumps that can't display the current high prices are breaking the law by posting prices at half the total, then doubling the figure at checkout. "The gas stations aren't necessarily price-gouging. They seem to be trying to get around the technical problems with the pumps," Bronson said. He said callers to a Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services hot line have complained about the practice. The department is sending inspectors to stations in question to investigate and potentially take the pumps out of service until they are retrofitted. Targets of the complaints were stations in Floral City in Citrus County and Silver Springs in Marion County.