No Gas Tax Holiday In Virginia, Senate Kills Measure

VIRGINIA — As the price of regular gas hovers around $5 a gallon, a last-ditch attempt by Gov. Glenn Youngkin to enact a three-month gas tax holiday was killed by the Virginia Senate Friday night.

Youngkin's budget amendment proposed Wednesday called for a three-month suspension of Virginia's 26.2 cents per gallon tax on regular gasoline and 27 cents per gallon on diesel. The proposed gas tax suspension would have run from July 1, 2022 to September 30, 2022.

While the Virginia House of Delegates adopted the three-month gas tax holiday, the Virginia Senate again rejected the measure, NBC Washington reported. The Senate voted 21-18 to "pass by" the measure, effectively ending it.

In northern Virginia, the average price for a gallon of regular gas on Saturday was $5, while mid-grade was $5.47 and premium gas was $5.78, according to AAA.

The governor first proposed a gas tax holiday in amendments to the budget passed by the Virginia General Assembly in early June, but they were not approved.

In addition to the gas tax holiday, the budget amendment called for annual gas tax increases not to exceed 2 percent.

Senate Democrats said revenue from the gas tax is needed to improve Virginia roads and other transportation project. Some argued the tax break would not save Virginia drivers much money, but would mostly benefit out-of-state drivers and oil companies, WTOP reported.

“Taxes virtually have nothing to do with the price of gasoline,” Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw said.

Youngkin said Democratic lawmakers failed to “put politics aside for the good of Virginians.”

The General Assembly's budget deal was negotiated to receive bipartisan support, as Republicans have the House majority and Democrats have the Senate majority. The Senate had voted against the gas tax holiday in the spring, with Democrats concerned about the revenue loss to the Commonwealth Transportation Fund.

A three-month gas tax holiday would cost an estimated $437 million in revenues, according to the Virginia Mercury. Youngkin has argued the transportation fund has a surplus that can allow for suspension of the tax.