One gas station in Kent, Washington got more than its fair share of business Wednesday morning in hosting an event that gave motorists a gas tax holiday of sorts.
Approximately 200 drivers got some relief at the pump there, paying just $3.82 a gallon which is the current national average, thanks to the Washington chapter of Americans for Prosperity and Future 42, two groups which put on the two-hour cheap gas event to draw attention to the state's cap-and-trade law – part of 2021's Climate Commitment Act – they contend is contributing to Washington's high gas prices, currently averaging more than $5 per gallon statewide.
That’s in addition to the state’s 49 cents per gallon gas tax.
Half an hour before the 10 a.m. start of the event, more than 40 drivers were lined up to take advantage of the more budget-friendly fuel.
By the time the gas discount event actually started, the line of vehicles stretched even longer, threatening to overflow into nearby streets.
Several drivers expressed frustration with how expensive gas is in Washington.
“I heard about it from my director at work,” Benaiah Israel of Kent said of the event.
“The cheapest place we can get gas right now is the Walmart, and Walmart is $4.30 [per gallon],” he continued, noting that it was miles away from the Shell station hosting the price roll back event.
“Hardly ever do I get gas locally, unless I’m in dire need,” he said as he topped off his nearly 20-gallon tank for just under $75.
Israel said he planned to use the gas go camping with his kids over the weekend.
The line of automobiles started to thin out about an hour into the event, giving gas station employees a chance to fill up their tanks.
Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, was at the event to show his support for addressing constituents’ concerns about the Climate Commitment Act’s impact on gas prices.
“All [the Climate Commitment Act] does is sell indulgences for people to pollute, and it’s not even bound by the 18th Amendment,” he said, referencing the amendment to the state constitution that “restricts the expenditure of gas tax and vehicle license fees deposited into the motor vehicle fund to ‘highway purposes.’”
“The least we could do is restrict this new tax to roads and bridges,” said Walsh, who earlier this year was elected the chair of the Washington State Republican Party.
The event provided short-term relief for some 200 motorists, but organizers think a more permanent solution is needed.
“We provided some short-term relief today but the goal was to bring much-needed, long-term relief in the form of repealing the cap-and-trade law and have lower gas every day of the year,” said Future 42’s Dann Mead Smith and Americans For Prosperity Washington’s Heather Andrews in a joint statement after the event.
Members of Future 42 were on hand advising drivers about Initiative 2117 that seeks to repeal Washington’s cap-and-trade law and ban future similar policies.
Petitioners need to collect 400,000 signatures — 324,516 of which need to be verified — by the end of the year to make it on the 2024 ballot.
