State lawmakers plan to vote Wednesday afternoon to pause North Carolina's gas tax in the midst of high prices caused by the war in Iran.
The suspension of the state's 41-cents-a-gallon tax will last until Nov. 30.
Sen. Michael Lazarra, R-Onslow, says reserve funding will make up for the loss of gas tax revenue, which funds road projects.
"This bill adequately balances the need to provide relief for all North Carolinians while stabilizing the DOT's budget during this initial pause," he said.
Pausing the gas tax is expected to cost around $360 million — transportation funding that Senate leader Phil Berger says the state will backfill to avoid any disruption to road projects and maintenance.
"We're able to do this because over the past 15 years, Republicans in the General Assembly have been good stewards of the people's money, have reduced taxes, have balanced budgets, and have created substantial reserves," he said during a news conference.
Wednesday's vote comes in a special legislative session called just weeks before the midterm election. Democrats say the timing is political: The announcement of a special session came on Saturday, one day after news reports that national Republican groups are shifting campaign funding from North Carolina to Kansas due to U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley's faltering poll numbers against former Gov. Roy Cooper.
"They think you're too stupid to do the math," Senate Minority Leader Sydney Batch, D-Wake, said of her GOP colleagues. "They're hoping you don't realize that even if we wipe out every penny of the state gas tax today, we will still be paying more at the pump then than we were last year. There is still not a single thing that these cowards are willing to do to address the real issues."
Still, Democrats said they will vote for the suspension of the gas tax, and Gov. Josh Stein has signaled support for the measure — although he says it should have happened sooner. Berger was asked about the idea by reporters in the spring, as gas prices reached $4 per gallon, and he called it a "feel-good kind of thing" that wouldn't make a major difference for consumers.
"The pressure on individual citizens is much greater now than it was then, and it still feels good," Berger said Wednesday when asked about his previous comments.
