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DeSantis wants to cut gas prices for Floridians

ORLANDO, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that he wants to help slash gas prices across Florida and is calling on state lawmakers to cut $1 billion from the gas tax.

DeSantis said these cuts could save people about 25 cents a gallon.

AAA says we could be seeing the highest gas prices in eight years this Thanksgiving.

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Channel 9 spoke to one driver who said he is sick of feeling the pain at the pump.

“It’s pretty outrageous,” Sam Urban said. “Last year to the exact date I was in North Carolina and me and my buddy drove up because gas was so cheap. We’d rather drive than fly. It was only $1.70.”

Thanksgiving travel is making matters even worse.

Read: Pain at the pump: DeSantis proposes $1B in gas tax relief

AAA says this week the average fill-up will cost $50 for a 15-gallon tank.

That’s $13 more than what Thanksgiving drivers paid pre-pandemic in 2019.

DeSantis is blaming the high prices on the policies of President Joe Biden.

Read: DeSantis proposes $1K bonuses for teachers, $600M to increase minimum pay

“We have folks that are getting hammered by the rising gas prices so we’re here to do something about it,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis went on to say that Florida families are really feeling the pinch at the pump, and this proposal could save the average family up to $200 over the course of a five-to-six-month period.

However, the next legislative session doesn’t start until Jan. 11, so it could still be months before it goes into effect, if it even gets passed.

Read: DeSantis signs bills to prevent employers from firing workers over COVID-19 vaccination mandates

In addition, gas taxes pay for roads through construction and maintenance. So if the proposal gets passed, roads will have to be paid for another way like sales tax or tolls.

DeSantis believes the tax holiday would give drivers the much-needed relief they need as they adjust to inflation.

“There’s a lot that goes into this. Obviously supply and demand locally. A whole bunch of stuff, but here we have places like Buc-ee’s and Wawa that are absolutely committed to reducing the price if we enact this,” DeSantis said.

Read: Gov. DeSantis proposes new election reforms for Florida

If passed, this wouldn’t be Florida’s first gas tax cut.

The state did a temporary 10-cent-per-gallon cut in summer 2004, giving driver lower prices for a month.

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