What to Expect When Lawmakers Return to Raleigh to Tackle Gas Prices

North Carolina lawmakers will return to Raleigh on Wednesday for a brief session to address high gas prices. The move comes the week before in-person early voting begins in the state, in a year when voters have overwhelmingly cited the economy as their top concern.

House Speaker Destin Hall and Senate leader Phil Berger announced over the weekend that they would hold an extra session to provide North Carolinians with “relief” from gas prices, and they said Monday that lawmakers would return to Raleigh at noon on Wednesday. Their offices confirmed to The Assembly that they will ask lawmakers to temporarily suspend the state’s gas tax. 

Lauren Horsch, a spokeswoman for Berger, said in a statement that legislative leaders had heard from lawmakers and constituents “about the need for a temporary suspension of the gas tax and providing relief for our farmers.”  

Gas prices have climbed across the country as President Donald Trump continues the war with Iran. According to GasBuddy, the price of a regular gallon of gasoline in North Carolina was around $3 before the military conflict began in February. Prices peaked above $4.50 a gallon in May, declined slightly over the summer, and approached record highs in September. 

Hall told reporters in May that he was open to the idea of suspending the gas tax, which is currently $0.41 per gallon. Berger, however, said he opposed such an effort. “That’s more of a feel-good kind of thing than something that actually would make a whole lot of difference with reference to individuals,” Berger said at the time.

But with no end to the war with Iran in sight and gas prices still high, lawmakers are feeling pressure to step in. 

“North Carolina families and farmers are feeling the impacts of rising fuel costs every day,” Berger wrote Saturday on X. “They need real relief and they need it now.”

“Rising fuel costs are squeezing North Carolina families’ pocketbooks and creating challenges for farmers across the state,” Hall added on X. “North Carolinians can’t afford to wait.”

Historically, the party that controls both the White House and Congress loses seats in midterms. A top Republican super PAC recently paused spending on behalf of North Carolina Senate candidate Michael Whatley and is instead buying ads in Kansas, where the party doesn’t typically worry about winning. North Carolina Republicans are trying to protect their supermajority in the state Senate and limit any losses in the House.

“After 16 years with nearly complete control of the state, legislative Republicans have done nothing to make life more affordable for North Carolinians,” House Democratic Leader Robert Reives said in a statement. “In fact, they have made life harder and much more expensive for almost everyone. Now, just weeks before voters can hold them accountable at the ballot box, they are trying the first in what will surely be many attempts to distract from their horrible record.”

The offices of Berger and Hall didn’t give any details about how long they will propose pausing the gas tax, how much they think that would reduce prices at the pump, and how it might impact the state’s transportation budget. 

Suspending the gas tax doesn’t necessarily mean customers would immediately save that amount at the pump. Distributors, wholesalers, and importers pay the tax, which is passed along to drivers; retailers may still sell at a higher price to cover taxes they’ve already paid.

Lawmakers adjourned in early August, with no votes planned until after the November election in order to give members ample time to campaign. But under the state constitution, the governor or legislature can direct an extra session, more commonly known as a special session. For the legislature to make the call, three-fifths of members must sign a letter, which was achieved on Monday, according to Hall and Berger’s offices.

The upcoming special session is expected to narrowly focus on suspending the gas tax to allow members to quickly return to their districts and minimize the potential for intraparty drama right before the election. If Republicans lose seats in the midterms, they could use the final weeks of the year to pass any unfinished legislation. 

Democratic Gov. Josh Stein would have 10 days to sign, veto, or let a gas-tax pause become law without his signature.

“We’re glad to see legislative Republicans finally acknowledge the disastrous federal policies that have led to sky-high fuel prices for North Carolina families and farmers,” Onotse Omoyeni, a spokesperson for Stein, said in a statement. “If they’re serious about lowering costs long after the campaign ads stop, let’s also get to work on the Governor’s Working Families Tax Cut or heed his calls to protect ratepayers from data centers’ massive energy consumption.”  

Stein has called for clawing back economic incentives for data centers and proposed a family tax credit that would give an average of $419 to nearly 700,000 households.

Last week, Stein directed the state Department of Revenue to pause penalties on farmers who use a type of diesel fuel meant for off-road equipment on the highway through the end of the year.