W.Va. Democratic, GOP leaders call for gas tax pause special session
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CHARLESTON - With less than 22 days until the Nov. 3 general election, Democrats in the West Virginia House of Delegates and Republican State Treasurer Larry Pack are lobbying for a pause to the state's gasoline tax.
In a virtual press conference Tuesday morning, members of the House Democratic caucus, joined by several Democratic House candidates, called on Gov. Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, to call a special session, with members also expressing a willingness to work with their GOP legislative colleagues to call themselves into special session if needed.
"I want to make sure that it is abundantly clear that we are asking the governor to call us back into special session," said House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell. "If he is unwilling to do so, we’ll work with the supermajority, but we need to get this done. It’s been way past time. It’s overdue, and West Virginians need help today."
Gas prices began climbing following strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran beginning Feb. 28 and authorized by President Donald Trump. Iran has since limited access to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil tankers. Numerous ceasefires and other agreements between the U.S. and Iran have fallen apart since then, culminating with spikes last month of unleaded and diesel fuel.
"The Trump administration chose to take this country into a war with Iran, and working families here in West Virginia and all over the country are now paying the price," said Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, the chairman of the West Virginia Democratic Party. "When you launch a war in a region critical to the world’s oil supply, you create uncertainty, disrupt markets and put upward pressure on energy prices.
"Let’s be honest about who’s responsible for the response here at home," he continued. "The Republican Party controls both chambers in the Legislature and of course have control over the executive branch. They have the power to act. They have the responsibility to lead. And yet, our people are still waiting for a response from them."
According to AAA, diesel in West Virginia jumped to its highest recorded average price on Sept. 24 of $6.50 per gallon. As of Tuesday, the average price of diesel in West Virginia dropped to $6.37 per gallon, down from $6.39 per gallon Monday and $6.40 per gallon one week ago. The national average for a gallon of diesel fuel Tuesday was $6.37.
The unleaded fuel average price in the state was $4.24 per gallon Tuesday, down from $4.26 Monday and $4.29 last week. The national average for a gallon of unleaded Tuesday was $4.34.
House Democrats have called before for pauses in the state's gas tax, the revenues of which go into the state Road Fund. West Virginia taxes both gasoline and diesel fuel at 36 cents per gallon, the lowest of any surrounding states except for Kentucky. The state has collected $111.3 million in gasoline and motor carrier tax revenues so far since the beginning of the new fiscal year that began July 1, which was $7.3 million below the revenue estimate.
"We started talking about this again at the end of September when diesel hit an all-time high in West Virginia of $6.50 a gallon," said Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha. "We also now know that families have spent over $1,000 more on annual normal expenses this year due to the war, so we’re trying to do everything we can to bring costs down."
The House Democratic Caucus wrote a letter to Morrisey in April calling for a special session to pause the gas tax when prices began climbing. Several states have either suspended their gas tax rates or frozen them to prevent planned increases, including Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Utah and Ohio.
Ohio's 90-day pause was put in place by its legislature with bipartisan support and took effect on Oct. 4. But Hornbuckle said he has yet to hear from Morrisey, who also did not provide comment for this story.
"That is one of what I would call maybe one of the more disappointing things," Hornbuckle said. "It’s been a hallmark of our caucus for a while now that we are open and willing to work together on these issues, but again, we’re not seeing a response. And so, I think that non-response tells us, unfortunately, everything that we need to know."
Pack, in his first term as state treasurer after serving as a Republican member of the House and a senior adviser and Department of Revenue secretary for former Gov. and current U.S. Sen. Jim Justice, has also been a vocal proponent of a temporary gas tax pause.
"We keep noticing all these gas prices in Ohio are much cheaper than in West Virginia," Pack said in a social media video Friday as he was traveling between Wheeling and New Martinsville. "Ohio is leading the way. They reduced their tax for a 90-day period to help their citizens, help their truckers and help the folks getting their kids to school."
Trump also signed an executive order on Oct. 5 that allows the use of dyed diesel, typically used for off-road and farm vehicles, for use on highways, as well as deferring the 24 cent-per-gallon federal diesel tax through the end of the year.
"President Donald Trump stood up, and he's doing the same thing with diesel. ... West Virginia needs to get into the game," Pack said. "We need to do everything we can to help West Virginia. We need to reduce our gasoline tax, our diesel tax, for a 90-day period. Let's get it done, West Virginia."
A special session costs approximately $35,000 per day, though lawmakers would only be able to consider the items placed on the special session proclamation by the governor. The Legislature can also call itself into special session if three-fifths of both the House and state Senate sign a petition, though this power is rarely used.
Lawmakers are not slated to return to Charleston until December for legislative interim meetings, though the House is holding its own interim meetings in November the week after the midterm election.