TALLAHASSEE — Saturday marks the beginning of Florida’s month-long gas tax holiday, which Gov. Ron DeSantis sought from the Legislature to save consumers some cash at a time of high prices — and a month before voters decide whether to re-elect him to office.
State lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis set aside $200 million in federal dollars for the holiday, to reduce the tax rate on gas by 25.3 cents per gallon.
Floridians, according to Thursday data from AAA, are paying an average of $3.39 per gallon, lower than the $3.61 consumers paid a month ago and far lower than the $4.89 per gallon price in mid-June.
“This will be a little bit of a respite and a little money saved on the gas tax,” said Sean Snaith, director of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Forecasting.
Ian landfall:Hurricane Ian makes landfall near Cayo Costa as a Category 4 storm with 150 mph winds
More:Tallahassee hotels juggle two home football games, cancellations, Hurricane Ian evacuees
It’s unclear how Hurricane Ian, which made landfall Wednesday and decimated southwest Florida as a Category 4 storm, may affect prices, but AAA says it is not likely that increased demand would cause pump prices to spike.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it had pre-staged 128,000 gallons of fuel.
Price-gouging warning
President Biden has warned oil and gas companies to not use Hurricane Ian as an excuse to raise prices.
“I also want to say again to the oil and gas…
