Beers seeks special session to kill tax on gasoline

Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2005 | 11:28 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Sen. Bob Beers, a candidate for the GOP nomination for Nevada governor, today suggested a special session of the Legislature be called to eliminate the state tax on gasoline to help Nevada motorists.

Beers, R-Las Vegas, said he called Gov. Kenny Guinn to convene a special session or to issue an executive order to scrap the 17.65 cents per gallon gasoline tax until mid-November.

"We need to provide relief for taxpayers and for their pocketbooks," he said.

The move Beers is suggesting is not without precedent. Georgia already has suspended its gasoline tax collections in an effort to help motorists.

Beers said the suspension of the gasoline tax in Nevada would cost the state about $42.5 million in collections. That money goes to build highways and support the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

Beers would supplant that loss with money from the state's "rainy day" fund that has $159 million in it and is expected to rise to $194 million by June 2007.

There was no immediate response from the governor's office.

The tax imposed on gasoline by local governments would not be affected. Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said he has talked with Beers and has directed the legislative fiscal analyst office to examine the idea.

"I need to know the impact," he said, referring to the loss of revenue from the state's "rainy day" fund.

Raggio said he spoke to Guinn about it and the governor is considering it. "But he's been swamped," said Raggio, referring to the plans to accept 800 people displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

"I'm willing to look at it if it is workable," he said. But he cautioned he didn't want to lower the rainy day fund to a point where Nevada might not be able to respond to an emergency.

Gas prices in the Las Vegas Valley were averaging about $3.09 for a gallon of regular unleaded on Monday.