PERRY HALL, Md. — No one likes paying more for gasoline, but it hurts some more than others.
Just ask Lili Norkaitis.
The recent Fallston High grad took on a second job to pay for it.
“I have a single mom,” said Norkaitis. “She works nights to support me and my two siblings, and yes, the gas has gotten so bad that her stipend that she used to be able to pay is mere pennies compared to what the total price is.”
A group of local, state and federal Republicans are calling on Maryland lawmakers to switch gears and offer a second, extended gas tax holiday.
Today, the state gas tax stands at 36 cents per gallon, and it’s set to go up 7 cents more on July 1.
“We have seen them pass bills out of Annapolis in six hours so we know it can be done, and this is what they should do, bring immediate relief,” said Del. Kathy Szeliga.
Proponents of suspending the state’s gas tax would like to do so for about six months at a cost of about one billion dollars.
Unlike the 18 cent federal gas tax break that President Biden has pushed for recently, Congressman Andy Harris says Maryland can afford it.
“It falls on Annapolis, I think, to go ahead and pause the gas tax for the rest of the year,” said Harris. “The bottom line is they have billions of dollars sent to them by the federal government for COVID reserve funds.”
Last month in a joint statement, Senate President Bill Ferguson and House Speaker Adrienne Jones opposed another state gas tax holiday saying it would cut into funds needed to repair roads and bridges throughout the state.
