By admin 
In an election cycle where affordability has become the overarching issue for voters, average gasoline prices in South Carolina eclipsing $4 per gallon has reignited a push to provide relief at the gas pump.
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But despite calls for lawmakers to address the issue, there’s no plan for the General Assembly to return to try to provide relief for motorists feeling the pinch.
Earlier this year, some lawmakers pushed for a suspension of the state’s 28-cent-per-gallon gas tax, which goes toward roadwork in the state. The pushes did not advance in the legislature. The state’s gas tax generated about $91 million in January and $81.3 million in February, according to .
Now with fuel reaching $4 a gallon, calls have been renewed to address the issue, and they come with less than two months until election day.
Republican nominee for governor, Attorney General Alan Wilson who in March called for a temporary suspension of the gas tax, proposed giving the governor power to suspend the gas tax for 120 days.
Wilson also proposed using reserves to ensure road construction projects continue despite the lost revenue.
“Alan Wilson believes the governor should have the ability to respond quickly and temporarily suspend the gas tax when extraordinary circumstances are driving fuel prices to unsustainable levels,” said Wilson deputy campaign manager Claire Brady.
State Rep. Jermaine Johnson, D-Richland, the Democratic nominee for governor, said he would consider gas tax relief but blamed GOP control for rising gas prices.
“We’d ask Alan Wilson whether he agrees the need for this suspension traces back to policies his own party put in place. A 120-day fix from the party that built this problem is convenient timing, nothing more,” Johnson said in a statement.
The Wilson campaign statement led state Rep. Jordan Pace, R-Berkeley, chairman of the hardline conservative S.C. House Freedom Caucus, to call on House Speaker Murrell Smith and Senate President Thomas Alexander to bring the General Assembly back to Columbia to pass a $500 million tax rebate.
Pace would give $300 to every household with dependents and $200 for every household who filed a tax return without dependents.
To pay for the rebate, Pace said he wants to use the money allocated for lawmaker earmarks, a bill which has been signed by Gov. Henry McMaster, and claw back unspent cash from state agencies.
“Just weeks ago we took a non-appropriations bill, stripped it, inserted more than $350 million in earmarks, and passed it in rapid fashion — restricting amendments before any had even been heard on the House floor,” he said. “If we can do that for political projects, we can certainly do it for South Carolina families.”
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State Rep. Brandon Newton, R-Lancaster, who serves as an assistant majority leader, said he doesn’t believe the General Assembly will return to Columbia before the next session. He called a proposed rebate a gimmick and a one-time fix.
“I hear people talk about the gas being high, and look, I agree. I buy it, too, but gimmicks and political stunts right before the election are not the way to accomplish that,” Newton said. “Real policy goals are the way to put money back in people’s pockets, and that’s what we’re focused on.”
State government isn’t alone in charging a tax on motor fuel.
The federal government charges 18 cents per gallon of gasoline and 24 cents per gallon for diesel that goes into the highway trust fund for surface transportation projects.
Dr. Annie Andrews, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, and U.S. Rep. Russell Fry, R-Surfside, have called for a suspension of the federal gas tax. U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson on Wednesday threw his support behind the idea.
Cody Simpson, the Republican nominee for commission of agriculture, voiced his support for suspending both the federal and state gas taxes.
But the U.S. House adjourned for the month and won’t return to Washington until after the midterms. So immediate relief from the federal government may not be coming soon.
Back in South Carolina, suspending the gas tax does not have the support from McMaster, who is in office until mid-January.
“Everybody has their own opinions about what the best thing to do is, but I know that we’ve been working hard to get this money for the roads. If we don’t have good roads, then we don’t have economic progress. We don’t. People can’t get to work to make money,” McMaster said. “I don’t want to do anything to slow down the progress that we are finally making with our roads.”
Gas prices have risen amid the ongoing war with Iran. They spiked again after an attack on Saudi Arabia forced the closure of an oil pipeline for repairs leading to more fuel shortages of the global commodity.
McMaster said without taking the military action that President Donald Trump ordered, he fears Iran would have been close to having weapons that could be used against the United States.
“If the war in Iran keeps the radicals in Iran from launching missiles at the United States and our allies, the answer is anything is worth that,” McMaster said. “How you put a price on it, I don’t know, but that’s better than bombs, missiles from Iran dropping on the United States.”
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