Spill of the Hill: Why you're not getting a gas tax holiday
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Deehan here with Spill of the Hill, my column unraveling Massachusetts politics.
Gov. Maura Healey's election-season gas tax holiday is stalled, and it's her own party, not President Trump or Mass. Republicans, that is the obstacle.
Why it matters: A suspension of the 24-cent-a-gallon tax quickly became a cornerstone of Healey's reelection campaign and her pitch to voters that she's fighting to make Mass. more affordable.
- But Democratic leaders show absolutely no appetite to make Healey's proposal a reality, weeks before the Nov. 3 election.
State of play: Healey wants a two-month gas tax pause, filed inside a $2.24 billion closeout budget.
- She's said the $120 million hit would be covered with Fair Share surtax money.
- Regular gas averages $4.40 a gallon.
Reality check: The governor can file a bill. She can't make Democrats move it. With the session winding down, Healey's own party leaders have effectively killed her big election season pitch.
- House Speaker Ron Mariano called a suspension "fiscally irresponsible" with no end to the Iran war in sight.
- Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz, whose committee is sitting on the bill, noted the House has repeatedly said no to this kind of thing, including a 25-124 vote in April against a Republican suspension amendment.
- Senate President Karen Spilka hasn't rejected the idea. But the Senate's hands are tied on tax bills that can be gutted by the House before reaching the other chamber.
The other side: Republicans like gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue say the timing is a ploy, with tax relief expiring right after Election Day if it's passed.
- Healey says a limited window beats open-ended cuts. In 2022, she called Charlie Baker's gas tax holiday proposal a gimmick.
- Minogue's alternative has its own gap, as he'd replace the lost revenue with savings from a state audit. But he hasn't quantified those savings.
Between the lines: In late September, the Trump administration mailed $500 refund checks to nearly 1 million ACA enrollees.
- They came with a letter signed by Trump that blamed Biden-era overcharges, just in time for the election.
- Trump and Healey's moves share the same ingredients: visible relief, tight timing and blame aimed elsewhere.
The bottom line: Trump's checks went out. Healey's holiday is likely to stay a pipe dream, thanks to her fellow Democrats' rejection of her big campaign idea.