Massachusetts Senate Democrats have rejected Gov. Maura Healey's proposal to suspend the state's gas tax, dealing a second blow to a plan that would have offered drivers temporary relief at the pump. The rejection comes as Massachusetts motorists continue paying gas prices hovering around $4 per gallon, with the Senate now set to take up a nearly $3 billion supplemental spending plan next week that no longer includes the tax pause.
The move follows a similar decision in the House, where Democrats rejected Healey's gas tax proposal in their own version of the supplemental budget, approved last week, according to the Eagle-Tribune. Republicans had proposed an amendment to suspend the gas tax for 60 days, but that effort also failed. Healey first unveiled the gas tax holiday proposal in September, filing legislation on Sept. 23 that would have paused the state's 24-cents-per-gallon gas tax for two months, as WBUR reported at the time.
A Proposal That Never Made It Into Either Budget
The House Ways & Means Committee had already pulled the gas tax suspension from the supplemental budget under debate, and a redrafted version of the bill issued Oct. 20 no longer contained any language about the gas tax, according to the same WBUR report. CBS News Boston separately reported that lawmakers stripped Healey's gas tax suspension out of their $2.3 billion supplemental budget, pulling it before the measure reached a floor vote.
Healey's plan would have used unbudgeted funds from the state's surtax on incomes over $1 million to cover the estimated cost. Her office pegged consumer savings at $120 million. Surtax revenue is earmarked for education and transportation. Healey's proposal also would have required gas stations to pass the savings directly onto customers, a detail WBUR's reporting flagged as central to her pitch.
Mariano Calls the Idea Fiscally Irresponsible
House Speaker Ron Mariano has opposed the suspension, calling it fiscally irresponsible. He argued it would limit the state's ability to fund critical infrastructure projects while doing little to alleviate costs for residents, a position WBUR's reporting attributed directly to him. Healey, for her part, has pointed to President Donald Trump's war on Iran and his tariff policies as drivers of higher prices and increased consumer costs, according to the Eagle-Tribune's reporting.
Massachusetts' gas tax is 24 cents per gallon.
Voters Want Relief, Polling Shows
Public appetite for a pause has been strong. A University of Massachusetts poll found that 69% of Massachusetts residents supported a temporary gas-tax suspension, while just 12% opposed it, according to SouthCoast Today. The poll surveyed 800 Massachusetts voters from Oct. 5 to 12 and carried a margin of error of 4.2%. As of Oct. 21, the average Massachusetts price was $4.25 per gallon for gasoline and $6.33 per gallon for diesel, according to AAA figures cited in the same report, with prices up more than a dollar from the previous year even after slipping about 15 cents over the preceding month.
The issue has become entangled in this year's governor's race. Mike Minogue, Healey's Republican rival, has called for eliminating the gas tax entirely, proposing to fund the move by identifying waste, fraud and abuse in state government. His broader platform calls for suspending the gas tax whenever prices top $4 a gallon and working toward the tax's long-term elimination, according to WBUR's reporting.
What Else Is Riding on the Budget Bill
Beyond the gas tax fight, the supplemental spending plan closing out the previous fiscal year carries a mix of other priorities. It includes provisions for the state Department of Transitional Assistance. The bill also includes proposals aimed at lowering utility costs for energy consumers.
Healey's supplemental-budget filing also proposed a cap on ticket resale prices of 110% of a ticket's original face value. Several states have also taken up gas-tax measures this year. Reporting from USA Today has noted that experts caution drivers in those states may see smaller savings than the full value of the suspended tax, a dynamic that could have shaped the skepticism Massachusetts lawmakers brought to Healey's own plan.
