Annapolis, MD – The Joint Republican Caucus in the Maryland General Assembly today called on the Maryland General Assembly to convene in Special Session to address the automatic gas tax increase that will occur on July 1. Both House and Senate Republicans have fought for years to eliminate the automatic increase in Maryland’s gas taxes, offering legislation and floor amendments to address the issue. These measures have been rejected by the Democratic majority in the General Assembly. Governor Moore has recently joined the Republican’s call to address the automatic gas tax increases.
“It is encouraging to hear Governor Moore express his support to addressing these automatic increases, but he should take action and immediately call the General Assembly to convene a Special Session,” said Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey. “Republicans have been leading on the elimination and suspension of the automatic increase of this regressive tax for years, and the Governor has now recognized this is the right thing to do. Marylanders should not have to wait until the General Assembly convenes in January of 2024, we could pass a bill to repeal these automatic gas tax increases in a day.”
Maryland’s gas tax is set to increase by 10% on July 1.
“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.”
Under a law passed during the O’Malley-Brown Administration, Maryland’s gas taxes are linked to inflation and can increase automatically as inflation increases. Automatic increases in transit fares were also linked to inflation, but the General Assembly eliminated those automatic increases during the 2023 Legislative Session.
“Tax increases, particularly on items that are essential to so many Maryland families, is something that should be publicly debated and voted on by the General Assembly – that is our job,” said House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy. “Automatic tax increases, in our view, are just bad policy. Increasing gas taxes by automatically tying them to increases in inflation means you’re increasing them when people are already struggling with higher prices on other essential items. That is reprehensible.”
“General Assembly Democrats were irresponsible when they voted years ago to make these increases automatic,” said Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready. “Marylanders have waited too long for this wrong to be corrected. The General Assembly needs to convene in Special Session and repeal these automatic tax increases. Our citizens should not have to wait another day for us to do the right thing.”
