JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — State lawmakers have agreed to a $146 million tax package, but demands for a gas tax holiday weren’t accepted by Republican lawmakers.
That was even after Governor Ron DeSantis announced Friday he would agree to a suspension of the state’s 25-cent gas tax if lawmakers included it in the bill.
“If they put that gas tax holiday in, I’ll happily sign it,” said DeSantis. ”But I don’t want to promise people that if you do that, that somehow you’re going to see a huge change for the positive.”
Tax package sponsor State Representative Wyman Duggan (R-Jacksonville) said it was that concern that ultimately led to the decision to not move forward with a gas tax holiday.
“We did seriously consider it, and I as the Ways and Means Chair really liked the idea,” said Duggan. ”The problem is, we don’t have really any way, not just a good way, to ensure that the savings are passed along to the taxpayer, to the consumer,."
We traveled to Georgia, to put the assertion to the test.
At the gas station we stopped at in Florida, 10 gallons of gas would have run you about $43.
But just across the border in Georgia, where the state’s 33 cent gas tax has been suspended since April, the same amount of fuel would have run you less than $40.
According to AAA, average gas prices in the Peach State were 34 cents cheaper compared to the Sunshine State on Tuesday.
The difference was almost exactly equal to the 33-cent gas tax in Georgia.
And Georgians like Dean Morgan told us they definitely feel like they’re saving money at the pump.
“You know, a lot of people before they go to Florida, they load up on their gas here,” said Morgan.
House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa) argued there is still an option remaining that could allow Floridians could reap those benefits as well.
“We know that this is something that would actually help our neighbors. So, we do want to see the gas tax suspended immediately ,” said Driskell. ”Even though it didn’t make it into the tax package, this is something that the Governor could do.”
When asked about suspending the state gas tax via executive order in the past, the Governor has consistently maintained that only the legislature has the authority to make it happen.
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