President Joe Biden this week called on Congress to suspend the federal gas tax for the next 90 days to give consumers a break at the pump during the summer driving season. But the proposal received a tepid reception from Maine’s congressional delegation and there appears to be no critical mass of support for a suspension of the state gas tax, either.
In a statement on behalf of Gov. Janet Mills, spokesperson Lindsay Crete said the governor does not object to temporarily suspending the federal gas tax “so long as Congress ensures that Maine’s federal match for transportation and infrastructure projects is fully met and that Maine’s infrastructure work is not jeopardized.”
Suspending the state gas tax, a major revenue source for Maine’s highway fund, is another matter.
Crete noted that Mills had been willing to consider suspension of the state’s 30-cent-per-gallon gas tax, but that the Legislature instead opted to support the governor’s proposal to send direct payments of $850 to Maine residents.
“Delivering relief in this way also provides Maine people with the freedom to spend that money in the manner they believe is best for them, whether that be on groceries, gas or other items,” Crete said.
The statement did not specifically address whether the governor believes a gas tax suspension is good policy. Instead, it focused on the fact that the Legislature would have to enact such a measure before the governor could consider it.
The governor could call the Legislature in for a special session if she backed the concept of a gas tax holiday, but there’s been no indication that she wants to do that.
A statement from the Maine Department of Transportation outlined some reasons why a gas tax holiday might not be the panacea to skyrocketing prices at the pump. It noted that the savings for the average Maine driver — 15,000 miles per year in a vehicle getting 25 miles per gallon — would be $45 dollars for the duration of a three-month suspension of the state gas tax. The savings is even less for Biden’s federal gas tax holiday: $28.
“This assumes that gas retailers pass along these savings to consumers, which is not a given,” MDOT spokesperson Paul Merrill noted.
Merrill added that the governor’s inflation relief checks initiative are equal to the amount of gas tax — state and federal — that the average Maine driver pays over a three-year period. He also noted that the payments don’t siphon money from the state Highway Fund, which receives about $230 million per year from the state fuel tax.
Meanwhile, the president’s proposal to suspend the federal gas tax —18 cents per gallon for gas, 24 cents for diesel — was met with skepticism by some economists who argue it will provide little consumer relief and potentially be counterproductive. Central to this argument is the fact that gas prices are high because supplies cannot keep pace with demand; a gas tax cut — if it’s actually passed on to consumers — might increase demand while doing nothing to help with supply.
"Subsidizing demand in a supply crunch would be counterproductive, the size of the tax cut relative to pump prices is marginal, and elevated refinery utilization means more of the benefit would be captured by producers rather than consumers," said Tobin Marcus, a strategist at Evercore ISI and former policy adviser to Biden when he was vice president, according to Axios.
Delegation split on gas tax holiday
Nevertheless, Biden isn’t the only one who believes suspending the gas tax — state or federal — is a good idea.
Mills’ re-election opponent, former Republican Gov. Paul LePage, has been pushing for a gas tax holiday in Maine since early spring.
“Maine should temporarily suspend our Gas Tax IMMEDIATELY,” he tweeted in March. “It is time for relief. No more political games.”
On Wednesday, the Maine Republican Party sent a reminder to supporters that Mills could have heeded LePage’s advice, but didn’t.
“If you're sick of paying high gas prices, you need to know that Janet Mills decided that you shouldn't get a break,” Maine GOP executive director Jason Savage said.
LePage’s stance is a contrast with the reaction to Biden’s gas tax holiday proposal from several congressional Republicans, including one backing his bid for a third, non-consecutive term, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins.
In a statement, Collins questioned the timing of the president’s proposal — three months before the midterm elections — and its questionable savings.
“Instead of proposing gimmicks that don’t meaningfully lower the prices Americans are paying to fill their gas and heating oil tanks, the Biden Administration should focus on working with American energy producers to responsibly increase oil and gas production here at home and support producers in Maine and elsewhere who are developing renewable fuels,” Collins said.
Independent U.S. Sen. Angus King also expressed skepticism in a conference call with reporters on Thursday.
"I commend him (Biden) for reaching out and trying to take action,” King said. “On the other hand, I'm concerned because we've got to fix our roads and the money that goes from the gas tax, both state and federal, goes into fixing our roads.”
“We can't wish away potholes,” he added. “I'm also concerned, frankly, that the reduction … will be gobbled up by the oil companies and the price of gas may go down for a couple of days, but my suspicion is … that it will creep back up and we won't have gained much."
Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, of the 1st District, said in a statement that she was concerned the president’s proposal fell short.
“Every Mainer is feeling pain at the pump. In a rural state like ours, we need to drive long distances to go about our daily lives,” Pingree said. “I am concerned that this proposal will not go far enough to deliver relief and address the root cause of high gas prices: price gouging by Big Oil. Last month, as House Republicans fought to increase fossil fuel profits, I joined House Democrats in passing legislation to curb oil company greed. I hope the Senate will follow suit.”
Second District Democrat Jared Golden, backed Biden’s proposal.
“As I have previously said, given high gas prices I support a temporary suspension of the gas tax. However, that step is just one of many I’ve been pushing for since last fall to address high prices at the pump,” said Golden in a statement, adding that the president should use the Defense Production Act to facilitate increased production by oil companies and lower prices, as well as “approve the opening or reopening of several pipelines that would help increase supply.”
“To date he has not taken any action on this front,” Golden said.
Bipartisan gun deal advances
The U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan gun bill Thursday backed by Sens. Collins and King.
The bill makes modest changes to federal gun laws, provides funding for school security and expands an existing Justice Department grant program to include funding for states that adopt red or yellow flag laws, which allow law enforcement to petition courts and temporarily seize guns from someone considered a danger to themselves or others.
The bill also expanded the DOJ program to include grants for other crisis intervention programs, such as drug courts and veterans’ courts. According to a Washington Post report, Republicans insisted on expanding the grant program to other initiatives because some Republican-controlled legislatures will not pass red- or yellow-flag laws.
Another provision provides local authorities 10 business days to search juvenile justice and mental health records for gun buyers under age 21.
Congressional leaders have expressed a desire to fast-track the proposal, which has been billed as a response to mass shootings at an elementary school in Texas and a supermarket in New York. Moving quickly might also serve to hold together the bipartisan coalition backing a bill opposed by the National Rifle Association and former President Donald Trump and his allies.
Republican opposition in the House of Representatives appeared to be hardening on Thursday.
That has put the spotlight on Golden, a moderate Democrat who is expected to face a tough reelection fight in his bid for a third term.
“This legislation strikes the right balance between getting firearms out of the hands of violent offenders and those who have become a danger to themselves or others and protecting the Second Amendment and due process rights of law-abiding American citizens,” he said in a statement.
Golden had previously expressed support for several measures that are included in the Senate bill, as did the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, an influential organization on gun rights -- arguably more influential than the NRA here.
SAM director David Trahan told Maine Public earlier this week that a significant portion of what’s in the Senate proposal mirrors the yellow-flag law Maine passed in 2019. Supporters of the law acknowledge that it’s still a work in progress, but Trahan noted that it received broad bipartisan support in a Democratic-controlled Legislature and was signed by Gov. Mills.
Trahan, who said he’s been in regular contact with Collins and Golden, said he believes Maine’s yellow flag law is a potential model for other states, particularly those in more conservative corners of the country, because it better protects the due process of gun owners by requiring police to receive court approval to temporarily confiscate someone’s firearms and then requires another review weeks later.
He also said that the issues he discussed with Collins and Golden are reflected in the compromise bill that is now pending the Senate. And a key part of that, Trahan said, is that the bill would provide incentives for states to develop their own red or yellow flag laws without imposing a federal mandate.
“I think that people who are pushing red flag recognize that not you're not going to have a federal red flag law ever, and that states are going to try to do this in various ways to fit their states,” Trahan said. “It’s called sovereignty, state sovereignty. And I think there are many people who would like to see the feds just take it all over. But every state is going to be different. And somebody's going to have to accept the fact that if you really want to save lives, you're going to have to let states develop systems that meet certain criteria, including due process.”
The Senate passed the bill late Thursday and the House is expected to take it up either Friday or Saturday.
SCOTUS on Maine schools
Maine’s system of public education made national headlines this week when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a law that prevented state tax dollars from being used for tuition at religious schools.
For decades, Maine state government has paid for students who live in districts that don’t have a high school to attend a public or private school elsewhere – but not a religious school. In a 6-3 ruling, the court said that that distinction, based solely on a school’s religious affiliation, is unconstitutional.
The ruling will undoubtedly force changes to how Maine runs its tuition assistance program. We still don’t know what those changes will be, however, because the Mills administration says it is still reviewing the ruling.
Politically speaking, however, the reversal is a major victory for advocates of “school choice” and school vouchers in Maine and nationwide.
Michael Bindas, whose Institute for Justice represented the parents who sued the state of Maine, predicted that lawmakers across the country will now feel confident that taxpayer money can legally flow to families who then choose to spend it at religious schools.
“Those legal uncertainties are now put to rest and they can confidently adopt choice programs,” Bindas said. “And I'm very confident that we are going to see a spate of school choice programs as a result of this opinion."
There is no guarantee that religious schools will even want to participate in the state tuition assistance program, however, as they would have abide by state laws that prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ students faculty and staff.
“Private schools that want to participate in Maine’s tuition program need to seek annual approval and meet the standards for providing an equivalent public education, including abiding by Maine’s anti-discrimination laws,” said Marcus Mrowka, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Education. “Last year, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed LD 1688, which clarifies that schools that receive public funding are not able to discriminate against LGBTQ+ individuals in Maine. In the past three and a half years, no religious school has applied to participate in Maine’s tuition program.”
Waiting for SCOTUS
As of Friday morning, the U.S. Supreme Court had not issued its ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, a case that could lead to the overturning of a landmark decision that has barred states from outlawing abortion for nearly 50 years.
A leaked draft opinion by the conservative majority suggests that Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision directly affected by the Dobbs case, could fall.
If that happens, the immediate implications for Maine are mostly political, possibly affecting state and congressional races. A 1993 law backed by a Republican governor enshrined protections for abortion access in Maine. However, as reported by Maine Public and NPR, abortion rights advocates say those protections could be in danger if Republicans win majorities in the state legislature and LePage beats Mills in November.
The court could rule on the case as soon as Friday or early next week.
Maine's Political Pulse was written this week political correspondent Steve Mistler and produced by digital reporter Esta Pratt-Kielley. Read past editions or listen to the Political Pulse podcast at mainepublic.org/pulse.
