Virginia Republicans are asking for gas tax relief right now, with gas above $4.15 a gallon. On Tuesday, Oct. 6, House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore (R-Scott County) and other Republicans asked Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) to call lawmakers back to Richmond and pause the gas and diesel taxes for 90 days.
The state takes 32.6 cents a gallon on gasoline, 33.6 on diesel. If the whole cut reached the pump, a 15-gallon gasoline fill-up would cost $4.89 less.
Democrat leaders and a Democrat delegate have answered that question with a no. The governor has not said yes.
Democrat leaders said it in March, when gas was $3.88 a gallon and Democrat leaders rejected the same 90-day pause. Republicans pushed it in the legislative session, where the relief did not get enough Democrat votes to advance. And Democrats said it again on Sept. 28, when Del. Sam Rasoul (D-HD-38) told WCYB he does not support a gas tax holiday.
The governor has not said no, either. Her office says she “is assessing all available options” and blames the price of gas on President Donald Trump’s war with Iran. It also says she wants families to “keep more of what they earn.”
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-SD-34, Mount Vernon) said in March that Virginians want lawmakers to stand up to Trump “instead of trying to help pay for his bad decisions.” In the Committee’s view, that puts making a point about Trump ahead of relief at the pump.
Rasoul’s stated worry last month was roads. “I don’t know why we should endanger our transportation projects,” he said, before tying gas prices and transportation funding to the war involving Iran and Israel and to Trump. The road-funding concern is real, and the Excuses section below answers it. In the Committee’s view, the foreign-policy argument is the part that does nothing for a driver at the pump.
Meanwhile gas has climbed about $1.35 a gallon since February. Her office says she is “working to create long-term solutions.” The long-term solution has not shown up at the pump.
This is not a Republican trick. In May, Kentucky’s Democrat governor, Andy Beshear, sought a 10-cent cut in his state’s gas tax by executive order, pending action by Kentucky’s attorney general, and paused a scheduled increase. “The price of gas isn’t partisan,” he said. Illinois paused a scheduled increase too.
Georgia is in the middle of its own pause. North Carolina lawmakers called themselves back on Oct. 7 to push one. Kilgore says those pauses will push drivers in his corner of Southwest Virginia “across the line to buy gas.”
Democrats say the money is needed for roads. Republicans put the cost at about $410 million and say state revenue is running ahead of projections. Sen. Mark Peake (R-Lynchburg) pointed to a $600 million tax on data centers Richmond just passed.
Others say stations will pocket the savings. An Old Dominion economist warned that past holidays “don’t really impact consumers as much as politicians would like.” Fair point. Sen. Glen Sturtevant (R-Chesterfield County) has an answer for it: the bill can require the savings to be passed on to the customer.
In the Committee’s view, “assessing options” is what a governor says when she would rather not decide. It is a slower way to say no.
Here is the Committee’s view of why this is on her. The legislature is out of session, so a holiday needs a special session. Under Virginia’s Constitution, the governor may convene one when she sees fit, and must convene one if two-thirds of the members of each house apply. Republicans want them to act before the General Assembly returns in January. The Committee asked in May whether she would call one. She has not.
In the Committee’s view, every fill-up between now and January is a vote she is choosing not to call. If she wants credit for affordability, the 32.6 cents is the first place to earn it. Fairfax drivers should ask her the same question the Committee asked in May, and keep asking at every pump until she answers.