Marylanders, Fill Up Your Tanks. Gas Prices Are About To Go Up
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Time is running out for Maryland's drivers to take advantage of lower prices at the pump.
The state's 30-day gas tax holiday, enacted last month in response to soaring gas prices, is set to expire at 11:59 p.m. Saturday. That means drivers should expect to spend roughly 36 cents a gallon more starting on Sunday.
With the clock winding down, Comptroller Peter Franchot is suggesting that Marylanders fill up their gas tanks soon to head off a last-minute rush.
In a statement, Franchot lamented that lawmakers did not pass a measure to extend the gas tax holiday for 60 more days.
"A 90-day state gas tax holiday would have provided more substantial savings to hardworking Marylanders trying to make ends meet with everyday costs rising due to inflation," Franchot said.
Citing the state's multibillion dollar budget surplus, Franchot said Maryland was well positioned to absorb the cost of extending the holiday, which has saved Marylanders an estimated $100 million.
As of Friday, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.678, while mid-grade was $4.168 and premium was $4.431, according to AAA. The price of diesel was $4.591 a gallon.
The national average was $4.073 per gallon.
The General Assembly passed the emergency fuel tax suspension in mid-March as gas prices crept past $4 per gallon amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Despite calls for an extension, lawmakers failed to pass a proposal to let the holiday continue.
"It's great that we were the first state to enact a gas tax holiday, but it's distressing that we're also the first state to let it expire when we have such a huge surplus that could have easily absorbed a longer holiday," Franchot said.
