Georgia’s governor Thursday extended the state’s gas tax holiday amid record-high prices at the pump.
“While President Biden continues to enforce an out-of-touch agenda with damaging effects, we’re responding to record-high inflation and addressing supply chain issues by empowering Georgians to keep their money in their own pockets and keep goods flowing,” Governor Brian Kemp said on Twitter.
I have extended both the suspension of Georgia’s gas tax and the State of Emergency to help with supply chain disruptions ahead of #MemorialDay weekend. Both are now in effect until July 14.https://t.co/p1uDkrJta1
— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) May 26, 2022
“I have extended both the suspension of Georgia’s gas tax and the State of Emergency to help with supply chain disruptions ahead of #MemorialDay weekend,” he said. “Both are now in effect until July 14.”
The governor used his executive powers to extend the state of emergency under which the gas tax holiday exists. That state of emergency was announced on April 14, citing “severe disruptions to Georgia’s supply chain.”
It was renewed on May 10 to last until June 14, and renewed Thursday to last until July 14.
“The state is experiencing such state of emergency due to the impacts of severe supply chain disruptions on the economy and social and economic well-being of its residents,” the executive order says.
Kemp also signed into law HB 304 on March 18, suspending the state’s gas tax until May 31. The bill was passed unanimously through both chambers of the General Assembly.
With that law about to expire, the governor supplanted the suspension with Thursday’s executive order, noting in the order that the supply chain issues causing the skyrocketing gas prices have not been alleviated while the bill has been in effect.
Georgia’s gas tax is about 28 cents per gallon.
While Georgia’s gas prices have skyrocketed over the past year, and particularly since February, the average price per gallon remains far lower in the Peach State than prices nationally, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
Thursday, a gallon of gas in Georgia averaged $4.13 per gallon. Nationally, that price was $4.60.
Gas prices peaked a week before Kemp signed HB 304 into law, on March 11, reaching an all-time high of $4.29 per gallon on average.
A gallon of gas in Georgia averaged $2.92 a year ago.
_ _ _
Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Georgia Star News and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]
