Politics
Massachusetts House leaders reject Healey’s two-month gas tax pause
House Democratic leaders removed Gov. Maura Healey’s proposed 24-cent-per-gallon gas tax suspension from a supplemental budget, citing its cost and concerns that drivers would face higher prices when it ended. The proposal’s defeat puts a key part of Healey’s reelection pitch at odds with leaders of her own party.
Massachusetts House Democratic leaders have stripped Gov. Maura Healey’s proposed two-month gas tax holiday from a supplemental budget, rejecting a plan she said would offer relief to drivers facing high fuel prices.
The proposal would have suspended the state’s 24-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax for two months. Healey proposed using revenue from the Fair Share surtax to cover the estimated $120 million cost.
House Speaker Ron Mariano said lawmakers did not want to pause the tax only to restore it while fuel prices might still be high. “Why do I want to be in that political fight?” he told reporters after meeting with House Democrats on Beacon Hill.
House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz, a key budget adviser to Mariano, argued that the money could instead support capital projects, including improvements to the MBTA. The debate pits immediate savings at the pump against funding for longer-term public infrastructure needs.
The proposal had been a central element of Healey’s reelection pitch. Its removal puts the governor at odds with leaders of her own party, who would have to approve restoring the tax when the temporary suspension ended.
Healey and Mariano have both pointed to the Iran war as a factor behind high prices. Mariano said ending the conflict would do more to address the problem than temporary measures, which he described as “gimmicks and tricks.”
The House was scheduled to vote Wednesday on a Republican amendment to restore Healey’s plan. Democratic leaders were expected to oppose it overwhelmingly.