WV House Democrats again ask Gov. Morrisey for gas tax special session

by Lori Kersey, West Virginia Watch
May 7, 2026

With gas prices still averaging more than $4 per gallon as the United States’ war with Iran continues, Democrats in the West Virginia House of Delegates again asked Gov. Patrick Morrisey to call a special legislative session to suspend the state’s gasoline tax.

The nine House Democrats sent a letter to Gov. Patrick Morrisey on Wednesday, about a month after they first proposed the gas tax during a news conference April 8.

“House Democrats have a plan and legislation to lower the cost that West Virginians pay at the pump,” they wrote in a news release Thursday. “Unfortunately, the governor has taken no action since House Democrats called for a special session last month.”

According to the Democrats’ plan, the state would suspend the state gas tax for 30 days when the price exceeds a baseline average of $2.85 to $3 per gallon. The bill would be in effect through the end of the year.

Democrats asked the governor to schedule the special session to coincide with a set of House-only meetings scheduled for May 18-19.

The state fuel tax averages about 36 cents per gallon and brings in between $30 million and $40 million per month, which supports the state’s road fund, according to the Democrats.

Besides the Democrats, the West Virginia Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative Republican state lawmakers, also called for the suspension of the gas tax last month.

According to reporting by the national news outlets, the United States was awaiting Thursday a response from Iran on its latest proposal to end the conflict.

Motoring and leisure travel membership organization AAA reports that the national average gas price in the United States was $4.30 per gallon, as of April 30, up from $3.183 a year ago.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Morrisey said he’s open to considering suspending the gas tax, but said actions the United States takes regarding Iran are likely to impact gas prices.

“I think we’re all watching right now with the Straits of Hormuz, what’s happening, and we’re trying to make sure that that’s going along very well,” Morrisey said. “That will probably have the single biggest impact in terms of gas prices, of anything that any state or governor can do.

Morrisey’s comments were in response to a question from WOWK News.

The governor added that suspending the gas tax would come with a “trade off” — taking money away from road improvements.

Democrats have said the state could afford to suspend the tax.

“That diverts significant dollars away from the road fund, and those dollars are sorely needed as we’re patching potholes,” Morrisey said. “I want to get our roads in better and better shape and keep investing in infrastructure.”

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