CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Democrats want to advance discussion over the statewide gas tax as members of the House gather at the state Capitol for informal discussions Monday.
House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, and Jason Pizatella, CEO of the Contractors Association of West Virginia, were both guests on MetroNews “Midday” over the past week and shared their thoughts on the divisive issue.
The Democratic Party in the state, along with the Republican-comprised Freedom Caucus, have publicly called for a suspension of the statewide gas tax while prices continue to soar. Prices for gasoline and diesel fuel have hovered around $4 and $5 per gallon while talks between the U.S. and Iran continue.
Hornbuckle said the Democrats will propose for the legislature to call a special session to discuss West Virginia fuel prices. He said the costs are out of control, directly because of the conflict in Iran that began in February.
Hornbuckle noted the work of the opposite party, the Republicans, through the Freedom Caucus, and stated some members of the GOP are willing to waive the tax for now.
“To suspend the gas tax temporarily, it will be done on a 30-day basis, with the ability to reevaulate what the average prices are,” Hornbuckle said. “If those prices go back to what they were, pre-Iran conflict, then we will resume the gas tax.”
Pizatella said the solution isn’t so simple. He cited two main issues with suspending the gas tax.
“One is that it jeopardizes the investment that the state is making, and will make in the very near future, in our transportation infrastructure by pausing the gas tax,” Pizatella said. “Whether it’s short term or temporary term.”
“There really is no guarantee that a moratorium on the gas tax will have the impact on gas prices,” Pizatella added.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey addressed rising gas prices during a press conference last week in Charleston.
“We do like to make sure that we’re returning as much money back into people’s pockets as we can,” Morrisey said, “We’ve actually had different conversations with the Trump administration. I am hopeful that what the president is doing, which I think is correct, that’s going to bring some certainty to the situation in the Middle East.”
Pizatella echoed Morrisey by saying gas prices are contingent on the Iran-U.S. conflict finding a resolution.
“We believe that as soon as this conflict in the Persian Gulf wraps up, gas prices will come back down,” Pizatella explained. “I wish that I had a magic wand, or any politician had a magic wand, that could just wave it, and say ‘if the gas tax goes away, the gas prices will immediately go down’ and that’s just not the case based on the data.”
The gas tax directly feeds into state transportation funding. Morrisey and Pizatella both warned against making rash decisions with regard to transportation funding.
“When you do things like that, there’s a trade-off,” Morrisey said. “We have a real shortage of money within our road fund. That makes it very, very difficult because that diverts significant dollars away from the road fund. Those dollars are sorely needed as we’re patching potholes. I want to get our roads in better and better shape.”
“From what I understand, from talking to [Department of Transportation Secretary Todd Rumbaugh], is the state gas tax generates anywhere from $30-to-$40 million a month for West Virginia’s road fund, depending on what the price of gas is,” Pizatella said. “[Rumbaugh] has to plan for how the highway program is going to spend those dollars over the years.”
“If that gets disrupted in any way, big or small, I think what it does is it calls into question the stability of some of the road, highway, and bridge improvements that the state plans to do,” Pizatella continued.
Hornbuckle conceded the gas tax money goes towards the road funding, but said many roads are “still in disrepair.” He suggested that funding could be used more efficiently. He said the House has a responsible plan to fill in the gaps that a state gas tax moratorium could leave.
West Virginia state officials announced that the month of April’s revenue exceeded expectations by $70 million, and the fiscal year has surpassed anticipated figures by $269 million.
Hornbuckle said the state could dip into the surplus money to replace what the gas tax would generate. If there isn’t enough surplus money on a month-to-month basis, he said, the government could use other accounts such as the Rainy Day Fund. Hornbuckle argued that since the Iran-U.S. conflict is an act of war, using the fund would be understandable.
“West Virginians deserve to know what they’re able to pay at the pumps, and to be paying something that’s fair,” Hornbuckle said. “Right now, it just isn’t fair, and as a state, we can do something about it. I believe that, along with the rest of my caucus, we have to do something responsibly. That is our plan going forward.”
Pizatella pushed back on proposed surplus spending. He said the legislature met in mid-March to allocate the additional revenue coming into the state for infrastructure priorities. It would be very risky to forfeit that money, he said, for what he called a “short-term” price benefit.
Four states have already made moves to suspend statewide gas tax: Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia, and Utah. Pizatella said while data is still emerging from those states, the tax suspension has affected prices minimally.
“I am sympathetic, very sympathetic, and our members are too, to the price of fuel,” Pizatella said. “Because we drive trucks and we drive machinery. The price of gasoline and the price of diesel fuel affects our industry quite dramatically. But, we think that the tradeoff is just too risky if you were to pause the tax. Because, once you pause the tax, sometimes it’s very hard to bring it back.”
Morrisey and Pizatella said it’s a waiting game for now.
If the Trump administration finds a solution to Iran talks, Morrisey said, prices will lower.
“That will probably have the single-biggest impact in terms of gas prices of anything that any state or governor can do,” Morrisey said. “If you resolve that, that’s going to bring relief at the pump, and we need relief at the pump badly.”