Oklahoma State Senate

For Immediate Release: September 1, 2005

Senate President Pro Tem Mike Morgan & Senate Finance Chair Jay Paul Gumm
explain plan to suspend state gas tax.

Senate Leader Proposes Emergency Relief from High Gas Prices

Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan called on Governor Henry today to expand the call of the current special session to allow lawmakers to provide emergency relief from high gas prices for Oklahoma motorists.

Morgan, D-Stillwater, proposed suspending the state’s gasoline and diesel fuel tax for the final three months of the year to help Oklahomans cope with the shock of the sky-rocketing price of gas.

“Gasoline prices jumped more than 20 cents a gallon overnight Tuesday and went up another dime on Wednesday. Oklahomans are struggling to afford the cost of their daily commute to work, their drive to the doctor, grocery store and even church,” said Morgan, D-Stillwater. “This is a true emergency facing every family in our state.

“Oklahomans need relief. I’m proposing that state lawmakers do all they can to reduce the high price of gasoline by eliminating all of the tax the state collects at the pump – effectively lowering the price of gasoline by 17 cents a gallon.”

Morgan said the nearly $3 per gallon gas prices could weaken Oklahoma’s economy – hurting small business owners and working families the most.

“For those who live paycheck to paycheck and those Oklahomans on a fixed income, these extremely high prices are devastating,” said Sen. Jay Paul Gumm, Finance Committee chair. “These fuel prices weaken families’ ability to afford life saving medicine or even get to their jobs.
“State government can’t bring back $1.50 per gallon gas, but we can offer this emergency relief for working families.”

Morgan said suspension of the tax on gasoline and diesel fuel from October through December would reduce state revenues by an estimated $103 million.

“I’m also calling today for the governor to declare an emergency that would allow us to use the Rainy Day Fund to replace the critical funding the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and our cities and counties use to maintain our roads and bridges,” Morgan said. “I know Oklahomans want to see the price of gasoline go down, but I’m also certain they don’t want that to happen at the expense of our already deteriorating roads and bridges.”

In addition, the budgets of all other entities that receive a portion of the gasoline tax will be made whole with money from the Rainy Day Fund.

“When state government was facing a budget crisis two years ago, we didn’t think twice about using the Rainy Day Fund to bail ourselves out. Now, every Oklahoma family is facing a crisis and we have the means to ease the pain they feel every time they go the pump,” Morgan said.

The balance in the Rainy Day Fund is more than $461 million. One-fourth of that amount, or roughly $115 million, could be made available by an emergency declaration from the Governor, Morgan explained.

The surplus state revenue deposited in the Rainy Day Fund comes mostly from higher gross production taxes on oil and natural gas.

“Higher oil prices are driving the cost of gas at the pump to record highs. It only makes sense to me that the state use some of that revenue to give needed emergency relief to every Oklahoma family,” Morgan said.

He said he’s prepared to call Senators back to the Capitol to enact his emergency gas price relief proposal as soon as Governor Henry expands the call of the Special Session.

Morgan said that while he wanted to emphasize his plan for emergency relief from high gas prices for Oklahomans Thursday, that should gas prices not begin to fall significantly he will author legislation next session to suspend the state gas tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day every summer.

For more information contact:
Senate President Pro Tem's Office - (405) 521-5605