MACON, Ga. — Gas prices will be dropping in the state of Georgia thanks to House Bill 304, which passed in the Senate Thursday night.
The bill suspends the state’s 29-cent gas tax until May 31st while gas prices continue to soar.
We went out to the pumps to explain what the bill is and we found some drivers don’t think it’s enough.
Abubakr Abdelmagid and his son Mustafa, who own an independent trucking company, say it’s been difficult to do their job hauling goods.
“We’ve missed out on a lot of loads I think because usually where we would be making above the national average, because of gas prices, we’re making below the national average. We’re losing money,” Mustafa says.
They pay for diesel fuel straight out of pocket and can’t cover the gas to pay for the long distance drives. It used to cost him $200 to fill his tank. Now, it’s doubled.
“As a mom and pop business – making money day-by-day – I don’t have no way to get any discount on diesel,” Abubakr says.”
They’ve even had to cut down on some of the essentials.
“Sometimes we have to cut a meal a day to save some money,” Abubakr says.
State Representative Jodi Lott, one of the main authors of the bill, says she feels for people.
“It’s a terrible situation that we’re in, it’s very unfortunate, so the governor has taken this initiative to move this legislation forward to help put this relief on Georgians.
However drivers like Abdelmagid doubt the 29-cent cut will help much.
“When you talk about a margin of $2 difference on diesel, and you cut 25 cents, it’s good, but it’s not enough.”
You probably won’t see gas prices drop right away. According to the Georgia Attorney General, gas distributors pay a gas excise tax, not the gas stations themselves, so when the distributors stop paying the tax, you should see gas prices start to lower.
If you think a gas station isn’t lowering their prices on purpose, gasoline is covered by Governor Brian Kemp’s latest COVID-19 state of emergency. This prohibits price gouging at the pumps.
Governor Kemp has signed the bill and it will be passed into law.