North Carolina lawmakers used a special session last week to pass a bill to pause the state fuel tax in hopes of providing financial relief at gas stations amid soaring fuel prices. Republican leaders in each chamber, Senate leader Phil Berger and Speaker of the House Destin Hall, announced over the weekend that they would convene a special session to provide “real relief” for families struggling with high fuel costs.
Lawmakers are currently out of session, with monthly check-ins scheduled in case the need for action arises. But Republican leaders chose not to reconvene then, instead calling a special session that would convene both chambers outside of regular planned sessions.
The bill, House Bill 3: Relief at the Pump, was released just hours before lawmakers had to vote on it. The bill makes it so “the motor fuel excise tax is suspended for a period beginning the day after this act becomes law through November 30, 2026,” according to the bill text. The state’s fuel tax is 41 cents per gallon and is the largest source of state transportation funding. In an early analysis by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, it’s estimated a 30‑day pause could create about a $225 million loss for the department.
The bill swiftly passed the House and Senate on Tuesday. Although the bill passed with only one no vote, coming from Democratic Representative Pricey Harrison, Democrats questioned the timing and effectiveness of the bill.
“If we’re that serious about helping people, we could have done this in the normal session, could have done it two weeks ago,” said House Minority Leader Robert Reives.
The average price of a gallon of conventional regular gasoline in the country was $4.31 last week, up 44% from a year ago, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
During a press event held by Democrats before the vote, Senate Minority Leader Sydney Batch called on Republicans to do more if they truly cared about the financial strain North Carolina families are feeling.
“What I will say is that they were extremely careful to craft the letter that has a special session only addressing one thing, which is the gas tax,” she explained to reporters. “And so it’s extremely problematic that when North Carolinians are suffering beyond just the gas tax, that they will not allow for us to run any amendments or discuss any other meaningful policy that will actually benefit North Carolinians immediately and in the long term.”
Democrats also questioned the timing, with it being so close to the midterm election. Gas prices have been on the rise all year, “Yet, somehow, [legislative leaders] just now noticed? Exactly one month before Election Day?” Batch said in a statement.
The pause in the gas tax only lasts through the month of the election. Recent polls show Democrats ahead in several state races as voters struggle with higher prices under Republican leadership.
Democratic Senator Lisa Grafstein saw the bill as a way for Republicans to promote themselves to voters, pinning politics as the priority of the bill. “Let’s not pretend that this is not about politics first and foremost,” Grafstein said to her colleagues on the Senate floor.
“There will also be a whole lot spent on new ads going out by some of our colleagues claiming to have taken steps to address the cost of living crisis,” she said. “I’m sure the identical social media posts are already teed up and ready to go.”
Other Democrats questioned the real relief this will bring to consumers. Though the bill pauses the state gas tax, companies are free to charge whatever they would like for gas.
While the bill was being heard on the Senate floor, Senator Jay Chaudhuri attempted to introduce an amendment to make sure the bill would actually change gas prices. His amendment would have allowed Attorney General Jeff Jackson to go after any company for price gouging that did not reflect the gas tax relief in their prices. The amendment was ruled out of order.
Senate Democratic Leader Sydney Batch said it was disappointing that the amendment was not accepted.
“Nothing in this bill makes sure gas stations actually pass these savings along to you,” Batch explained. “Senator Chaudhuri’s amendment was ruled out of order despite what he was trying to do was ensure that the 41 cents goes to the actual consumer rather than gas station owners”
Though the bill is touted by Republican leaders as a collaborative effort between the House and Senate, Democratic lawmakers had no hand in crafting the bill or calling a special session. The bill was released mere hours before lawmakers had to vote on it.
Republican lawmakers themselves could not definitively say how much relief this would provide. Hall said he would expect “30 cents, maybe 35 cents in reduction from this bill.”
Republican Senator Buck Newton said he wasn’t sure how much gas stations will shave off of their current pricing. “I don’t know because I won’t know what they’re buying it for from the wholesaler or what the wholesaler is getting it for at the terminal, and on up the line,” Newton said.
Senator Val Applewhite, a Democrat, said the fact that no one can say for sure if or how this will impact consumers makes this all “disingenuous and a little bit weird” to her.
Berger was pressed by reporters about his feelings for the bill since he has a history of criticizing a gas tax pause. In 2022, when then-President Joe Biden called for a three-month pause on federal taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel as gas prices were on the rise due to the war in Ukraine, Berger was not on board.
Berger’s communications director told the Charlotte Observer in a statement that “Instead of these temporary gimmicks, we should focus on permanent, long-term tax relief and reining in inflation.”
In May of this year, as prices began to soar, when asked about lawmakers possibly pausing the state gas tax, Berger said: “It strikes me that that’s more of a feel-good kind of thing than something that actually would make a whole lot of difference with reference to individuals.”
Governor Josh Stein signed the bill into law Friday, three days after lawmakers sent it to him. Stein applauded lawmakers for trying to provide relief, acknowledging that families have been hurting financially for some time now. Stein wished lawmakers could use this same sense of urgency to provide financial relief in other sectors outside of fuel.
“I’ve asked them to join me in dealing with affordability — add a Working Families Tax Cut and add a child tax credit. They did not include those things [in the budget],” Stein said. “Instead, they continue to have tax giveaways to big corporations, to shareholders, many of whom don’t even live in North Carolina.”
“What I hope is that this isn’t just an Election Day gimmick,” he added.
Last Friday, before the Republican leaders’ announcement for a special session, Stein took steps to lower fuel costs for farmers and families by directing the North Carolina Department of Transportation to provide penalty relief from prohibition on the highway use of red dye diesel fuel through the end of 2026- an action that was soon after mirrored by President Donald Trump at the federal level.
North Carolina drivers should not expect to see immediate relief from the passage of the bill as stations continue to sell gas they already paid taxes on. Therefore, it could be days or even weeks before companies begin buying fuel that isn’t taxed under the new law.
