OCEAN CITY – State legislators are calling for a special session to address Maryland’s automatic gas tax increase.
Last week, the Joint Republican Caucus called on the Maryland General Assembly to convene in a special session to address the automatic gas tax increase that took effect July 1. Joining the caucus in their request is Senator Mary Beth Carozza – representing Worcester, Wicomico and Somerset counties – who argued action was needed to repeal the gas tax increase ahead of the 2024 session.
“The Maryland General Assembly should take action now, this summer, to reverse this dramatic and automatic gas tax increase,” she said. “There is absolutely no reason we should wait until 2024.”
Under the Transportation Infrastructure Investment Act of 2013, Maryland’s gas taxes were linked to inflation and can increase automatically as inflation increases. Revenues collected from the gas tax are then used on roads and highway projects throughout the state.
On July 1, the tax rate increased roughly 10%, to 47 cents per gallon. In a statement last week, Carozza said she and other members of the Maryland General Assembly have tried to repeal the annual increases since 2014.
“This huge gas tax spike hurts working families and hits them hard at a time when other costs are increasing across the board,” she said. “Many Marylanders work hard all year to save and take a short vacation, and this dramatic gas increase hits them hard right now as many will be on the road traveling to Independence Day celebrations.”
Carozza argued that while gas tax goes up with inflation, it does not go down with deflation. To take emergency action before the 2024 legislative session, she said Gov. Wes Moore would have to call for a special session to convene in Annapolis.
“Lifting the gas tax would have such a positive impact on rural communities that depend on transportation for their day-to-day livelihoods as well as the thousands of Marylanders who make the trip to Ocean City every summer,” said Carozza, noting that Ocean City becomes the second largest city in Maryland during the season with approximately 300,000 people visiting on busy summer weekends.
Last week, Moore called on legislators to address the automatic gas tax increase but stopped short of convening a special session. In the meantime, the Joint Republican Caucus has created a petition to repeal the automatic increase.
“We appreciate Governor Moore echoing the common-sense concerns of Republicans on how these automatic tax increases detrimentally impact Maryland’s working families and small businesses,” said House Minority Leader Jason Buckel. “Our citizens benefit when we can find common ground and work together and we hope Governor Moore can influence House and Senate Democratic leadership to address this issue sooner rather than later.”
Moore was also joined by other Democrats in addressing the gas tax. Sen. Dawn Gile (D-33) said she supported efforts to set a tax rate without tying it to inflation.
“I supported these efforts as I am not in favor of connecting the gas tax to inflation,” she said in a Facebook post. “However, there weren’t sufficient votes to bring about the change. In the future, I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues in the General Assembly to find effective solutions to address this issue, which particularly impacts working families. As our State progresses towards the use of electric vehicles, it becomes crucial to explore alternative sources of revenue that won’t overburden Maryland taxpayers.”
Under the law passed in 2013, automatic increases in transit fares were also linked to inflation, but the General Assembly eliminated those automatic increases during the 2023 legislative session.
