Maryland Gas Tax: Hogan, comptroller, urge each other to ease high gas prices

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Comptroller Peter Franchot are urging each other to take steps to ease high gas prices by suspending fuel taxes.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Comptroller Peter Franchot are urging each other to take steps to ease high gas prices by suspending fuel taxes.

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Maryland is looking at an automatic gas tax hike of 18% on July 1, raising the gas tax from $0.36 a gallon to $0.43. This is done to automatically adjust the gas tax to keep pace with the inflation rate.

Hogan, a Republican, called on the comptroller Monday to take steps to "halt or minimize" the annual automatic gas-tax increase. However, Franchot says he'd like to do it, but he can't because under state law, only the general assembly can grant him that power.

"The governor agrees with me on substance that this tax increase is going through in the dead of night and people are not really noticing it and it’s going to have a very negative effect on the economy," says Comptroller Franchot. "He’s there on the substance, but he always says I don’t have the emergency power."

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In his letter to Gov. Hogan on Tuesday, Comptroller Franchot called for a special session before June 1, saying he wants state lawmakers to pass a four-month gas tax holiday to provide immediate relief from high gas prices.

MD leaders try to head off gas tax hike

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot is telling FOX 5 that he wants Governor Larry Hogan to call the general assembly back to Annapolis for a special session to stop a scheduled hike in Maryland's gas tax.