(The Center Square) – A Virginia Senate committee controlled by Democrats voted to reject a proposal that would have suspended the commonwealth’s entire 26.2-cent-per-gallon tax on gasoline for three months.
The Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee voted 12-3 to prevent Senate Bill 6001 from passing. Each of the committee’s Democrats and one Republican, Sen. Emmet Hanger, R-Augusta, voted against the bill. Three of the four Republicans voted to advance the legislation.
S.B. 6001 would have suspended the entire tax through May, June and July to provide relief to drivers during the summer months. It would have reintroduced half of the tax through August, three-fourths of the tax through September and would have reinstated the full tax through October. The legislation received support from the tourism industry, which believed it could make travel easier during the months when many people take summer vacations.
According to AAA, the average cost for a gallon of gas in Virginia is about $3.97 and in about a dozen localities, the cost is more than $4. Although the cost is slightly lower than it was a month ago, it is still about $1.26 higher than it was at the same time last year.
A vehicle with a 12-gallon gas tank costs more than $47.50 to fill up and a vehicle with a vehicle with a 15 gallon gas tank costs about $59.50 to fill up. Last year, it cost about $32.50 to fill up a 12-gallon gas tank and slightly more than $40.50 to fill up a 15 gallon tank.
The bill would have also added safeguards to prevent high tax increases in future years. Under the current law, the gas tax increases annually based on the increase in the consumer price index. However, this bill would have capped the annual increase at 2%, regardless of how much the consumer price index increased over the year. Without the passage of the bill, the annual tax increases will stay tied to the consumer price index without a cap.
House lawmakers are also considering legislation that would make the same changes to the gas tax: House Bill 6001. The Republican-controlled House Committee on Finance advanced the legislation on a voice vote and it currently sits in the Committee on Appropriations. The committee rejected efforts from Democrats to change the bill to a rebate for drivers, rather than a gas tax suspension.
If House lawmakers pass their version of the bill, it would be sent to the Senate. If Senate committees decline to advance the legislation or offer an amended version of the bill, then the proposal will be dead.
Tyler Arnold reports on Virginia and West Virginia for The Center Square. He previously worked for the Cause of Action Institute and has been published in Business Insider, USA TODAY College, National Review Online and the Washington Free Beacon.
