SERINO TO STATE: TAKE REAL ACTION & TRASH GAS TAX

ALBANY, NY— With gas prices rising every day, Senator Sue Serino and her Republican colleagues today advanced an amendment that would suspend the state gas tax and provide real relief to struggling New Yorkers. Despite bipartisan support for such efforts, the Senate’s Supermajority refused to advance the commonsense amendment.

“How high do gas prices need to soar before New York’s leaders take action?” asked Senator Serino. “Everywhere you go, it’s all people are talking about, and it’s far past time for Albany to actually listen.”

Senator Serino has been leading the charge on this effort since November of 2021 when the state’s average gas price was at$3.55, up from $2.23 only a year before. Today, less than five months later, New York’s average is up to $4.43 according to AAA.

At the time, she released a statement saying, “For too long, state government has turned a blind eye and put blame squarely on the shoulders of the federal government when it comes to increased costs on necessities like gas and home heating oil, but the reality is there are steps the state can take to provide immediate relief to hardworking New Yorkers who are being charged more just to get to work, take their children to school or daycare, or operate their businesses. It is far past time for the politicians in Albany to hear the concerns of their constituents and do what they can to provide relief now.”

At 46.19 cents per gallon, New York currently ranks 9^th for highest gas tax in the nation, according to the Tax Foundation, an independent tax policy nonprofit.

Serino and her colleagues have also been vocally opposed to legislation that has been introduced in both the State Senate and Assembly that could increase the gas tax by an additional 55 cents per gallon, which, if added, would place New York as the holder of the highest overall gas tax (101.19 cents) in the nation, far exceeding even California’s, whose current tax stands at 66.98 cents.

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