Gas Prices Continue to Climb, WA Governor Strikes Down Talk of Gas Tax Holiday

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(Pasco, WA) -- Gas prices are still on the rise The average price for regular unleaded fuel now 5.19 a gallon in Washington State. Many Washington Republicans have called on other state leaders to suspend the state's gas tax. The evergreen state has among the highest gas taxes in the country. According to Senate Minority Leader John Braun, a gas tax holiday would save motorists nearly 50 cents a gallon at the pump.

"We have more money than we expected to have. Why don't we use that to give the citizens of Washington a little bit of a break for the rest of the year on gas taxes?" Braun argues.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee, meanwhile, contends that the state is currently relying on those gas tax funds for many road projects, and that there is no guarantee oil companies will actually pass the gas tax savings on to consumers.

"We've got projects all over the state of Washington--the 520 bridge, maintenance--a bunch of these would have to stop. We have bonds that this money was bonded against that'd have to find some sort of solution." says Inslee.

Unleaded fuel is currently 5.14 a gallon in Oregon. That's up about a cent from where it was Thursday.