Sen. Cicarella Calls for Immediate Gas Tax Relief: “Put People Over Politics”

Hartford— State Sen. Paul Cicarella, joined by House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora, Rep. Dave Yaccarino, and Rep. Joe Zullo, is calling on Gov. Ned Lamont and the legislature’s Democratic majority to support immediate relief for Connecticut families by temporarily suspending the state taxes on gasoline and diesel through the end of the year.

Connecticut drivers currently pay a 25-cent-per-gallon excise tax on gasoline and a 49.9-cent-per-gallon tax on diesel. Republicans are calling for both to be suspended through Dec. 31, pointing to the Special Transportation Fund’s nearly $650 million in projected surplus and reserves as providing flexibility to absorb the temporary reduction.

Sen. Cicarella noted that Connecticut took similar action in 2022, when Republicans and Democrats came together to suspend the state’s 25-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax. The original legislation passed unanimously, was signed by Lamont, and the suspension was ultimately extended through the end of 2022.

“When families were struggling with high gas prices during the prior administration, Republicans and Democrats came together and suspended Connecticut’s gas tax because people needed relief,” said Sen. Cicarella. “Families are hurting again. The political circumstances may be different, but that shouldn’t change our willingness to help them.”

“This is an opportunity for the majority to put people over politics. People don’t care which party gets credit. They care about what it costs to fill their tank, buy groceries and get to work. We know this can be done because we’ve done it before.

Diesel relief is also important because those costs affect the businesses and trucks that deliver the products we rely on every day. Those expenses ultimately affect consumers.

This shouldn’t be Republican relief or Democratic relief. It should be relief for Connecticut families. Bring us back to Hartford and let’s get it done.”

Rep. Candelora pointed to Connecticut’s previous gas tax suspension as proof that lawmakers can act quickly to provide relief and emphasized that diesel costs also have a broader impact on consumers.

“We suspended the gas tax in 2022, so everyone knows how to do it. Diesel matters just as much,” said Rep. Candelora. “It fuels the trucks that deliver our groceries and everything on store shelves, and Democrats already made that more expensive with their truck mileage tax. Other states are taking action. We should too.”