Suspend the Gas Tax — Responsibly
Calls for the suspension of West Virginia’s motor fuel tax, universally known as the gas tax, have come from all the Democrats and a few Republicans in the Legislature. The proposals are different in two critical aspects.
House of Delegates Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle (D-Cabell), speaking for all nine members of his caucus, has put forth a plan to temporarily suspend the tax, replacing the money with funds from the general revenue fund surplus and/or from the rainy day fund. This makes good sense to me.
The Freedom Caucus, a smaller group within the House Republican super-majority, has offered a countervailing proposal to suspend the tax. Their idea calls for that tax to be suspended without the funds being replaced. This makes no sense.
The money from the gas tax goes directly into the state road fund, which is dedicated toward building and fixing the state’s roads. Were the gas tax to be suspended for any length of time without the money being replaced from somewhere, potholes (of which we already have too many) would go entirely unpatched. This would mean more blown tires and broken axles.
This might please owners of auto repair shops, some of whom are friends of mine, and I do not begrudge them the additional income. But I doubt it would please owners of victimized vehicles.
Delegate Hornbuckle’s proposal asks the governor to call a special session of the Legislature to suspend the gas tax. The Freedom Caucus plan opposes action by the Legislature on the grounds that a special legislative session will cost a few thousand dollars.
As I read the state constitution, it gives the governor certain powers to act independently of the Legislature in an emergency, but suspending a tax enacted in statute isn’t one of them. In the previous century, the Legislature granted the governor the authority to affect distribution of gasoline in an emergency, but that authority didn’t include the ability to affect the tax rate. It appears even that authority expired in 1974.
The cost of a special session is a distraction. The Legislature schedules several sets of interim meetings throughout the year. A few weeks ago, the House of Delegates held such a meeting. Special legislative sessions are often timed to coincide with interim meetings, making the cost of a special session nominal, as legislators will be in Charleston anyway.
Under normal circumstances, I would not advocate suspension of the gas tax. That tax has proven to be an effective method for constructing and maintaining roads, at least until now. The appearance and impact on our roads of more and more vehicles that don’t use gasoline is making that tax less effective at raising the necessary revenue to maintain existing roads and build the new ones we need. At some point we’ll need another method for funding our road system, either in addition to or as a replacement for the gas tax. But this is the method we have for now, and we need to make sure it’s effective for as long as possible.
Right now the price of gasoline at the pump is abysmally high, producing negative effects throughout the citizenry. We all hope that it doesn’t stay that high for very long, but we have no guarantee. There are, however, sufficient reserves in the general fund surplus and the rainy day fund to provide an alternative to the road fund for a few months. We should use those reserves to provide immediate relief for our citizens.
Although I disagree with many of their policy positions, I know, like and respect all of the members of the Legislature’s Freedom Caucus. In many conversations with those folks I’ve come to conclude that one of the issues upon which they and I agree is that the Legislature is supposed to act as a check on the executive branch to guard against any authoritarian instincts a given governor might have or develop. This is the essence of the system of checks and balances given to us by the founders of our republic.
Upon reflection, perhaps the Freedom Caucus members will come to their senses and support a proposal to temporarily suspend the gas tax, replacing the money from another source and doing it by legislative action. In the words of the Prophet Isaiah, “Come, let us reason together.”
This article was originally published in the Martinsburg Journal on June 9, 2026.
