House Speaker Pat Grassley. (RI photo)
As gas prices surge, the Republican governors of Maryland, Virginia and Florida are supporting gas tax holidays.
The State of Iowa’s gas tax is around 30 cents a gallon. House Speaker Pat Grassley, a Republican, said it’s unlikely the Iowa legislature would vote to temporarily suspend the state gas tax.
“The situation we see with the rising gas prices has nothing to do with any decision the legislature has or has not made,” Grassley said.
Speaking to reporters on the floor of the Iowa House, Grassley said a temporary hiatus for the state gas tax would delay financing for projects to improve Iowa roads and bridges.
“I think to really attack the situation and the issue that we see with gas prices, the federal government’s going to have to take some level of action,” Grassley said.
The federal gas tax is 18.3 cents per gallon and six Democratic governors this week calling on congress and President Biden to suspend it until the end of the year. In January, Florida’s Republican governor proposed suspending his state’s 25-cents-a-gallon gas tax for a full five months — using federal pandemic relief money to plug the hole in the state budget. The Florida legislature has just proposed a one-month suspension in October, when fewer tourists are visiting Florida.