In a news briefing today (June 8, 2022,) Governor Justice responded to the possibility of a gas tax holiday in West Virginia by saying, “It’s dead. It’s gone. That situation is over.” This comes after a previous announcement earlier in the week that he would consider the tax break.
Senate Minority Leader Stephen Baldwin issued the following statement in regards to the Governor’s comments.
“I’m disappointed that we can’t come together to provide tax relief for West Virginians. People are hurting badly and we can do something to make gas more affordable right now here in West Virginia. A gas tax holiday would save folks $7 each trip to the pump. For those of us who aren’t rich, that adds up to a lot of money. It’s enough to pay for a commute to work, two gallons of milk, or a prescription co-pay. To sit on $1.1 billion in Charleston while West Virginia families make sacrifices is just plain wrong.
“There is also an alternative—a rebate to citizens. The Governor did not acknowledge that policy proposal. He also said the money could be better used for road maintenance and construction, but we’ve received no proposal from his office to increase road funding. In fact, the road fund is down $10M below estimate right now because fewer folks are driving due to the high gas costs. Enacting a gas tax holiday would contribute more money to road fund than it’s receiving now!
“People expect us to work together to solve problems. I’m disappointed we can’t work together to provide direct tax relief for working people when they need it most.”
