A member of the Tennessee State House of Representatives filed a bill Wednesday to repeal the state’s gas tax.
“The working people of Tennessee are getting hammered by inflation and horrendous energy policy that has caused gas prices to sky rocket! All thanks to the incompetence of Joe Biden and the Democrats in DC,” Rep. Bruce Griffey (R-Paris) told The Tennessee Star. “Tennessee is currently running monthly budget surpluses is in the hundreds of millions of dollars over projected budgeted revenues. This gas tax repeal is a way to try to help working Tennesseans and all those Tennesseans paying higher prices at the pump.
“I know it’s not much but it’s something,” he continued. “If we continue to run tax surpluses, Tennessee will not have to increase or take taxes from other revenues to cover to [sic] reduction of the gas taxes that go to help counties and local with road and bridge projects. In fact, my bill would actually provide more money for local road and bridges earmarked as ‘improve act’ projects.”
According to a Wednesday press release, the bill is labeled HB 1650.
In 2017, former Gov. Bill Haslam (R) passed a bill to raise the state’s gas tax by six cents per gallon for regular fuel, and 10 cents per gallon for regular fuel over the course of three years.
Griffey ran his 2018 campaign for office in opposition to that bill.
According to his press release, the gas tax will be repealed and instead, the funds will be diverted to Tennessee’s state budget surplus to fund transportation and infrastructure projects.
“Under my legislative proposal, the State would continue funding transportation and highway projects at the same financial level while at the same time giving tax relief to its citizens. We wouldn’t miss a beat with our infrastructure projects because Tennessee has the money,” Griffey said. “In fact, our coffers are overflowing and we are on a continued revenue growth trajectory, which is why the legislature needs to be looking at reasonable ways to effect responsible tax reform and mechanisms to return excess tax collections to taxpayers. My bill is one way to do it.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
