VIRGINIA BEACH — His unsuccessful attempt to give a summertime break on the gas tax was Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s big disappointment with a state budget that delivered Virginia’s biggest ever package of tax relief, but Virginia’s chief executive plans to bring the idea of a gas tax cut back next year.
Speaking after a town hall to report on his legislative initiatives, Youngkin said Tuesday that he is concerned that the state tax — which rose July 1 from 26.2 cents a gallon to 28 cents a gallon — brings in too much money to the state’s main highway construction and repair fund.
But he said some level of a gas tax is needed, because it acts as a kind of user fee — it links the cost of dealing with wear and tear on state highways to drivers who cause it.
Still, his proposal for a gas tax holiday for the summer had a different aim: giving Virginians a break on record-high gas prices during the time of year when people drive the most.
“I want people when they fill their tanks to think about Senate Democrats,” he told a largely Republican crowd of 200 at Virginia Beach’s Green Run High School, referring to the group that he blamed for blocking the gas tax break.
He said that was his biggest disappointment with his first program as governor.
Democrats have said the suspension would not necessarily have been passed on in terms of lower prices at the pump, arguing that it would simply be a kind of windfall for the industry.
Virginia’s average price for a regular gallon of gas hit record highs in May and June but has dipped in recent weeks. The average price for a regular gallon of gas in Virginia was $3.969 on Tuesday, down from $4.106 a week ago and $4.629 a month ago.
Youngkin told the audience he was proud that a bipartisan effort brought home the two-year budget that included tax reductions of nearly $4 billion, including increasing the standard deduction from $4,500 for single taxpayers to $8,000 and for joint filers from $9,000 to $16,000 as well as eliminating the 1.5% state sales tax on groceries. (The General Assembly preserved the 1% portion of the sales tax on groceries that goes directly to local governments to fund public services.)
He said he wants to push next year for the extra $1 billion of tax breaks he couldn’t get through the General Assembly. Besides a gas tax break, that includes bumping up the standard deduction even more, he said.
Another big priority when the legislature reconvenes in January is tackling the high price of housing, Youngkin said.
“It’s basically a question of supply and demand,” he told reporters after the town hall.
Youngkin has launched a listening tour, looking for a package of measures for the legislature.
His town hall was held next to the local community’s annual National Night Out event, and Youngkin said he was proud that the budget including an additional $400 million for law enforcement, including the largest raise yet for police officers, sheriffs’ deputies and other officials.
“It is a big bold statement that Virginia backs the blue,” he said.
Of the tax measures that passed, including an 80% rise in the standard deduction and one-time tax rebates of $250 for single filers and $500 for joint filers, Youngkin said he was most proud of the measure that gives military retirees relief on the first $40,000 of their income.
“It says to veterans ‘we want you here … to stay and build a life in Virginia,’ “ he said.
On the spending side, the budget provides state funds, which must be matched by local school boards, for a 5% increase in teacher pay in each of its two years as part of the largest ever sum for state aid to K-12 education.
It also provides $1.25 billion for school construction loans and grants, and provides $100 million to launch laboratory schools at colleges and universities.
The administration says these are schools intended to explore innovative teaching techniques for preschool to high school while demanding high standards.
