As New Jersey drivers pay roughly $4.52 a gallon for regular gas, a pair of Republicans want state lawmakers to give motorists a break by suspending the state gas tax.
Assembly members Vicky Flynn and Gerry Scharfenberger are calling for a temporary gas tax holiday until fuel markets stabilize and prices return to levels seen earlier this spring. Their pitch comes as gas prices have jumped sharply since late February, turning another routine stop at the pump into a fresh reminder of New Jersey’s affordability problem.
The state’s gas tax is not pocket change. In 2026, New Jersey collects 49.1 cents on every gallon of gasoline sold: 38.6 cents through the petroleum products gross receipts tax and 10.5 cents through the motor fuels tax. That money is dedicated to the Transportation Trust Fund, which pays for road, bridge, transit and local infrastructure work.
That is the catch. While a holiday would put money back in drivers’ pockets, at least in theory, it would also punch a hole in a fund Trenton relies on to keep transportation projects moving.
Flynn said she and Scharfenberger still want a permanent reduction in the gas tax and more oversight of how the money is spent, but argued that drivers need help now. “Any little bit helps,” she said.
Scharfenberger framed the proposal as a test of whether state leaders are willing to lower taxes even temporarily. The real test is whether Democratic leaders in Trenton treat the proposal as relief worth debating or as election-season pump-price theater.
Other Republican-led states, including Georgia, Indiana and Utah, have moved to suspend or reduce gas taxes during fuel spikes, and federal lawmakers have also floated a pause on the federal gas tax. In New Jersey, the proposal now lands in a State House where tax relief is popular in theory but much harder to pay for.
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