States struggle
with gas prices

Some lawmakers want to lower gas taxes,
while others wonder how much that will help

MADISON, Wis. » Lawmakers around the country are entertaining proposals to ease the pain of soaring gas prices for consumers, considering everything from suspensions of local gas taxes to rebates for motorists.

But, so far, some are reluctant to act, partly out of concern for their states' bottom lines but also because they wonder whether motorists will even notice the difference if prices continue to climb.

The retail price of unleaded gasoline skyrocketed by 45.9 cents to a record last week in Hurricane Katrina's wake, averaging $3.069 nationwide, the Energy Department said yesterday. That puts pump prices $1.219 a gallon above last year.

In Hawaii, officials began capping the wholesale price of gasoline before Katrina swept through the Gulf Coast, sending prices soaring above $3 a gallon for much of the country.

After prices shot up and panicky motorists topped off their tanks, causing brief shortages, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue last week ordered a monthlong moratorium on state gas taxes. The order suspends Georgia's 7.5 cents-a-gallon excise tax and 4 percent sales tax on gasoline until the end of this month. The Georgia Legislature began a special session yesterday to give their required consent.

But in Massachusetts, leaders of the House and Senate said yesterday they will not support a bill proposing to suspend the state's 21-cents-per-gallon gasoline tax, all but ensuring its demise. The gas tax yields about $685 million annually for the state, money that is used primarily for road and bridge repairs.

"In view of the magnitude of the responsibilities presently in front of us, it doesn't make any fiscal sense for me to do that," Senate President Robert Travaglini told reporters during a Statehouse news conference.

In other states:

» In Maine, Republican House and Senate leaders said yesterday they would welcome a special legislative session to focus on ways to ease the impact of high gas and oil prices. Topping the list of proposals was a call for a suspension of Maine's 25.9-cent gasoline tax for at least 60 days "to allow the market to stabilize."

» In Tennessee, a group of Republican lawmakers urged the governor yesterday to temporarily halt the state's gasoline tax to give consumers a break.

"I don't go any place now that I don't have people asking me what are we going to do about high gas prices," said state Rep. Glen Casada.

» In Pennsylvania, Gov. Ed Rendell is considering a suspension of the state's 30-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax. Rendell said the average driver would save $66 over four months, but the state would lose $660 million for highway projects and maintenance.

» In Wisconsin, three Republican lawmakers last month proposed cutting the state's gas tax of 29.9 cents a gallon by 15 cents for four months. The plan calls for making up the $170 million motorists would save by cutting money the state planned to give public schools out of the transportation fund, which is comprised of gas taxes and vehicle fees.

The governor rejected the idea because schools could make up the lost aid by raising property taxes, and Republicans who control both houses of the Legislature have not warmed up to it, either.

» In Indiana, Gov. Mitch Daniels, President Bush's former budget director, has rejected calls to suspend taxes again. "A straight answer now is that I don't believe it would be a responsible step," Daniels said late last week. "The state is still coming out of bankruptcy, and it would not provide dramatic relief to any individual."