Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears says drivers need relief at the pump now.
"People are suffering," said Sears. "The farmers are suffering. Business owners and everyday people are suffering. Every time I fill up my tank, and I have to travel quite a bit with my new job, I’m starting to scream. Something has to be done."
Sears is backing Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s 90-day gas tax holiday proposal, which would go into effect in early June.
"Just give me my money, after all, it is my money," said Sears.
Youngkin's proposal would save you $3-$4 every time you fill up your tank.
“That's worth about six to seven lattes," said Democrat State Sen. Scott Surovell. "Maybe seven to eight Baconators. It’s really not a lot of money at the end of the day.”
Surovell argues that Virginians are not overtaxed.
"First, it is important to remember that Virginia is a low-tax state," Surovell said in a recent op-ed. "Even though Virginia has the 10th highest median family income among all states in America, WalletHub ranks Virginia as having the 34th highest tax burden in America. Virginia’s total state and local tax revenue ranks No. 24 on a per capita basis. Virginians are not overtaxed. It is also important to take account of why Virginia’s revenues are up. The federal government has injected $5.2 trillion in stimulus spending approved on a mostly bipartisan basis into our economy over the last two years."
Surovell and his fellow Democrats are still not on board with the Governor’s plan.
"Number one: about 30 percent of the benefit goes to out-of-state drivers," Surovell told 7News. "Maryland already gets enough money out of us when our people go over there to use their casino. I don’t think we should give them a free ride on our roads. The second thing is about 25 percent of the benefit goes to oil companies.”
“What would you say to folks who are paying high gas prices, what are you doing about it?” asked 7News Reporter Nick Minock.
“We’ve got a $300 rebate that’s built into this current Senate budget," responded Surovell. "The House is a little higher than that. We are going to see some kind of rebate coming back to folks. People don’t pay as much gas tax as they think they do. The average person pays $150-$180 in state gas taxes every year.”
Surovell says the tax rebate could come as soon as July 1st.
"Virginia Senate Democrats proposed $300 in every taxpayer’s pocket or $500 for every family," said Surovell. "The House Republicans, the other caucus that is in the majority, they proposed what I think is a $500 per filer rebate, $800 per family. I guess there will be some kind of compromise on that in the final budget. The check comes in the mail or it comes electronically in your bank account at some point after the budget becomes final on July the first.”
Meanwhile, House Democrats want to send Virginia drivers $50 checks.
“It's good they are finally coming around that people want relief," said Sears. "So here’s the problem I see with that. Before when we had checks going out to people, the checks went astray. That’s number one. Number two. If I drive 400 miles, and I don’t mean me. If there is somebody who drives 400 miles per month but someone else only drives 50 miles for the entire month then how is it fair to me that they get the same amount of money I do?
Sears said she wants to see action from lawmakers this week. After all, the state can afford it, she says.
"It’s time," said Sears. "The governor has told us based on the new projection we actually have more than one billion dollars than we expected in the commonwealth transportation fund. The money is there. It’s not going to hurt. We know that the money is there when the Democrats have been saying the money was not there. Now they are agreeing the money is there. It’s time to move on. Let’s get it done. Give us the gas tax delay at the pump. Please. Thank you."
On Tuesday, the Virginia House Finance Committee is expected to discuss Youngkin's gas tax holiday and will potentially vote on the bill.