RICHMOND, Va. — On Monday, Gov. Glenn Youngkin continued his push for the General Assembly to suspend Virginia's gas tax.
The legislation, which will be introduced by Del. Tara Durant and Sen. Steve Newman, would suspend the tax for three months. The tax is 26.2 cents per gallon of gasoline and 27 cents for diesel.
"Virginians need tax relief and it’s time for the General Assembly to act on the multiple tax relief proposals,” Youngkin said. "With gas prices and inflation squeezing families’ pocketbooks across Virginia and the nation and with over $1 billion in unanticipated revenue in our transportation fund, the general assembly must act now. Virginia should join numerous other states led by both Republicans and Democrats, in temporarily suspending the gas tax. Actions speak louder than words, we can lower gas prices now for all Virginians.
If approved, the gas tax would be suspended for the months of May, June and July. Then, it would slowly phase back in August and September.
The governor's proposal would also cap the annual adjustment to the gas tax at no more than 2% per year.
Youngkin's push comes as Virginia lawmakers reconvened in a special session Monday to finish the upcoming state budget. The regular session ended in March without the Democrat-controlled Senate and Republican-controlled House reaching an agreement.
House Democratic Leader Eileen Filler-Corn released the following statement in response to Youngkin's proposal:
"The Governor's timing is completely outrageous. House Democrats came to town this morning ready to debate a plan to help Virginians directly, not out of state drivers. The Governor could have acted in the Regular Session last month, he could have acted during Special Session today, but he failed to do so. I am baffled as to why he did not introduce this sooner. Further, the Governor himself says this plan won't guarantee savings to consumers. We need to get savings directly to Virginians. If we really want to talk about actions over words, Governor Youngkin still refuses to trigger the Virginia's anti-price gouging act to combat potential price gouging today. Rather than offering solutions for struggling Virginians, Governor Youngkin has prioritized political theater yet again."
According to AAA, the average regular gas price in Virginia is $4.059, down seven cents from the average a week ago but 34 cents higher than the average a month ago ($3.717).