LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — There is a growing push in Washington to suspend the federal gas tax, a move that would give drivers relief from sky-high prices.
As of Tuesday, the average price for a regular gallon of gas in the state is $5.24. In Las Vegas, it's $5.26.
President Donald Trump says he is willing to support suspending the gas tax. He would need approval from Congress to make it happen, and here in Nevada, a separate process would also be required.
WATCH | Anyssa Bohanan explains what steps state lawmakers would have to take:
In order to grant a gas tax holiday in the Silver State, Gov. Joe Lombardo would likely have to call a special session of the Nevada Legislature to approve a suspension of the tax.
Right now, the statewide gasoline excise tax is about $0.23 a gallon. With fuel indexing, the tax here in Clark County is at $0.78.
If the governor approved that suspension, the Highway Fund, a special revenue fund for construction, maintenance and repair of public highways in Nevada, would be short of money.
That means budgeted projects would have to either be delayed or canceled, or they'd have to find funding somewhere else in the state's budget.
We spoke with locals who say they're feeling the pain at the pump, and are hoping to see some changes soon.
"I'm retired, so I don't use the car as much as other people do, but it's taken a bite out of me," said Las Vegas local Paul Zappula. "I'm on Social Security. I got a small pension, my wife and I. You know, we'd like to see something come down. Prices, gas, whichever one, it doesn't matter. But it doesn't seem to want to be happening."
We reached out to Lombardo's office about a possible suspension of the gas tax. They sent us a statement that reads:
Governor Lombardo has remained focused on working in a bipartisan capacity to advocate for regional consideration in response to California regulations that are driving up fuel costs while in the long-term developing solutions through his Fuel Resiliency Subcommittee and securing Nevada’s energy independence from California. Without seeing draft federal legislation, the Governor’s office is unable to anticipate how such a proposal will implicate Nevada law or affect NV consumers. We will continue to monitor developments and contemplate how the State would implement such policy should it be passed by Congress and signed by the President.
