BALTIMORE — Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson pushed back Friday morning against a proposal by Republican state lawmakers for a 30-day break from the state gas tax as gas prices have risen since the start of the war in Iran.

Ferguson, a Baltimore City Democrat, said that the gas tax accounts for about a quarter of the revenue used for transportation projects.

“It’s as tempting as ever for anyone in this period of high cost to say, of course, let’s just roll back all taxes. The reality is, people still have to drive to work, they still have to use the bridges, they still have to use transit systems to get to and from cultural events, to work, to school, you name it,” Ferguson said during a Friday news conference. “We have to provide that infrastructure in order for our economy to function.”

Republican leaders in the Maryland General Assembly pitched the gas tax holiday on Thursday, adding that a pause would provide immediate relief for Marylanders. Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey planned to bring the proposal to the Senate floor as soon as Friday. House Republican leaders also said they plan to pursue the tax holiday as an amendment to the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act in the House of Delegates, which is expected to reach the House floor next week.

The average price for a gallon of regular gas in the state reached $3.82 on Thursday, according to the AAA — up 30 cents from a week ago and nearly 92 cents higher than a month ago, before the Iran conflict began. Maryland’s gas tax is a little over 46 cents per gallon, ranking it seventh-highest in the U.S., according to a 2025 report from the Tax Foundation.

The state implemented a 30-day gas tax holiday in 2022 after the start of the Russia-Ukraine War, which cost the state about $98 million in revenue.

“Maryland cannot control events happening outside our borders, but we can control whether (the) State government continues to add nearly 46 cents per gallon in taxes on top of rising prices,” Minority Leader Delegate Jason Buckel, an Allegany County Republican, said in a news release Thursday. “When costs go up, the State should not pile on.”

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