Governors and state legislators are considering moves to suspend state gas taxes as the cost of fuel continues to soar to record levels, a bipartisan effort that comes as high prices hammer household budgets across the nation, The Hill reported. Maryland legislators have fast-tracked a bill to suspend the state gas tax for 30 days. In Georgia, a state House of Representatives that has spent months bitterly divided over everything from voting rights to gun policy and tax reform came together to unanimously approve a gas tax suspension through the end of May. Gov. Brian Kemp (R) said he was pushing the legislature to get a bill to his desk. Florida legislators last week voted to suspend the state’s gas tax for a month — but not until October, when tourism is at its lowest ebb of the year. And Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) said she was in negotiations with the Republican-controlled state legislature, which planned to pass a bill creating a gas tax holiday for six months. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) used his State of the State address to pledge what advisers said would eventually be billions of dollars in relief money for those paying higher prices at the pump, though without offering specifics. Newsom and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) have pushed their legislatures to delay gas tax increases. Legislators or governors in Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island have all floated proposals or introduced legislation related to gas taxes in recent days. Most states tax gasoline at a higher rate than the federal rate of 18.4 cents per gallon. Suspending the local gas tax in those states would go farther to reduce the price of an average gallon than a federal suspension. But even then, eliminating the tax that most states charge would put only a small dent in the cost of fuel.
