Gov. Kemp extends gas tax two weeks past Election Day

UPDATE: Georgia Governor Brian Kemp extended the motor fuel excise tax, otherwise known as the gas tax, to June 3. The two-week extension comes on the eve of the primary election day, Tuesday, May 19, the previous deadline.

For Byron Blueford, the math on gasoline stopped making sense a long time ago.

The Atlanta resident drove a 2009 Toyota Corolla for 14 years, buying it at 19. But watching gas prices climb, sometimes reaching $6 or $7 a gallon in California, where his family lives, and as high as $9 in parts of Los Angeles, he made the switch to a 2021 Tesla Model Y earlier this year.

“They think it’s absurd,” Blueford said of his Oakland family’s reaction to fuel costs. “I think that this is just outrageous, and they think it is too.”

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp suspended the motor fuel excise tax on March 20. On the morning of Tuesday, May 5, for example, the price of regular gas at two QuikTrip gas stations on SR 85 and Tara Blvd., two busy major intrastate highways, was $4.29 per gallon. 

For those running for governor, like former State Representative Jason Esteves and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, the price of gas will be at or near the top of the list of questions they have received from voters.

“Donald Trump promised to lower gas prices on day one, but instead dragged us into an unnecessary war that’s raising costs at the pump for hardworking families. We deserve better than Trump’s disastrous economy, and failed Republicans in Georgia enabling him,” said Esteves in a statement to The Atlanta Voice. “When I’m governor, I’ll fight back against Trump and use every tool at my disposal to bring down costs for hardworking Georgians who need it most, not big corporations.”

Lance Bottoms agrees that the current president is partly responsible for the rising cost of gas.

“Georgians are paying the price for Donald Trump’s war in Iran and his failed economic policies, from higher gas prices to higher costs at the grocery store,” Lance Bottoms said in a statement to The Atlanta Voice. “With Georgia’s gas tax suspension set to expire, Governor Kemp should extend it and keep relief in place for families who are already being squeezed.”

Without an extension, the suspension will come to an end on May 19, primary election day here in Georgia. 

“As governor, I will act quickly in times of crisis to lower costs, including suspending the gas tax when necessary, working to reduce energy costs for families, and standing up to the chaos from Washington that is making life more expensive for Georgians,” said Lance Bottoms.

In Atlanta, prices have reached $ 5 per gallon. For Blueford, the calculus was simple: a full charge for his Tesla costs roughly $9 and takes about 30 minutes. Before the switch, filling his Corolla ran between $30 and $40. He still owns the Corolla, parked and rarely touched since he got the Tesla, and says he intends to keep it.

“I would always keep my gas car as my first car,” Blueford said. “If I need to leave it at home to charge, I’ll just take my other car out.”

The decision to buy a Tesla carried its own complications. Blueford said his mother had reservations, though his father was supportive. He has largely separated the vehicle from its CEO, noting that he refers to it simply as “a Tesla” and does not align himself with the brand’s public figure.

“I don’t condone or think anything of that man,” Blueford said. “I’m happy that I got the car that I wanted.”

Georgia Rep. Robert Dawson (D-65) has a day job when he’s not representing District 65 under the Gold Dome. He works in the tech industry and has to drive to and from work every day. He, like so many others, is feeling the financial crunch of high gas prices.

“In my opinion, I don’t know what economists are talking about. We’re at a point of hyperinflation. I believe it’s going to get worse, and hopefully that’s a wake-up call for Americans to work together.”

Maya Lawrence, 27, has to drive from Stonecrest to Alpharetta for work.

“Five days a week, Monday through Friday,” Lawrence said. 

The prices between home and work differ between $4 and $5, depending on when she gets gas and how much she buys. 

“It definitely made me go to the gas station more often than previously,” Lawrence explained. “So, usually I would fill up maybe in a week, and some change. On the weekends, I would be selective about where I went, because I usually went to Atlanta around Buckhead. I started limiting myself to the Madison Yards area because it’s closer to my house if I wanted to hang out in the city. I definitely was not using AC and was riding with my windows down.”

According to AAA, the average gas price in Georgia ($3.91), though much more than residents had paid a year ago, is much better than around the country, including in California, the District of Columbia (average price per gallon: $4.53), Hawaii ($5.65), and Connecticut ($4.55).

“I have a Toyota Corolla. The tank only holds about 10 gallons. It would cost between $23 and $25 to fill her up from below a quarter tank. Now, I think the most I paid the other day was $35 to fill up my tank from the quarter.”

The average price in Georgia remaining under $4 is due to the gas tax suspension. 

“Seeing 30 cents get taken off, seeing it drop from $3.99 to $3.69, definitely made me feel better because I could not fathom paying almost $4 a gallon to fill up my little car,” she said.

Clayton County resident Jeremy Crutchfield, a veteran and father, says he has to make what he calls “conscious decisions” on when to get in the car these days. Despite having a short commute to work, and being gainfully employed, he does drive far distances when he and his son Jordan want to see family in Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee. Those trips were already costly. 

“Now I have to think about it and be conscious of when and where I fill up,” Crutchfield said. “It’s an extra $40-50 a week, so it will affect our summer plans for sure.”

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