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Braun says gas tax holiday funded from reserves can be extended one month without legislature
Summary
Governor Braun said the state used rainy-day reserves to forgo about $140 million in excise and use tax revenue for a temporary gas tax holiday and indicated he can legally extend the holiday for one more month before seeking legislative approval.
Governor Eric Braun told reporters that a temporary break on gas taxes was made possible by the state's reserves and that he can legally extend the break for one additional month without immediate legislative approval.
Braun said the state forewent roughly $140 million in excise and use-tax revenue related to the holiday, attributing the ability to make the move to rainy-day funds and strong economic performance. "We got reserves. We got rainy day funds," he said, adding that the state is running government "better than any state in the country," in his view.
Asked how long he could continue the holiday, Braun said, "I can do it legally for one more month. And then the legislature would have to weigh in." He was asked whether the rainy-day funds would delay road projects; he answered that the funds were not affecting road projects.
Braun declined to announce a longer extension or a legislative plan at the event and said he would "look at that" if an extension were considered. He tied some recent decreases in gas prices to shifts in international oil flows, saying market changes had eased prices in recent weeks.
