Beshear: These 33 Kentucky communities approved for continued gas tax reduction
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- Thirty-three local officials filed to extend Beshear’s 10¢ gas tax cut.
- Communities without leader requests will see gas prices rise 10¢ on June 11.
- Beshear said the order could save Kentuckians about $26.8 million per month.
More than 30 communities across Kentucky successfully requested to extend Gov. Andy Beshear’s executive order that lowers the state’s gas tax by 10 cents per gallon.
The original executive order was signed May 5, and Kentucky law prohibited the order from extending past 30 days, according to Beshear’s office. To extend the order, county judge/executives and city mayors were required to request an extension.
Beshear’s office said Tuesday that 33 community leaders filed such a request. Mayors from 27 cities, judge-executives from five counties and the Louisville Jefferson County Metro Government submitted a request to extend the order until June 30, Beshear said.
Lexington was not one of the cities that filed a request.
Susan Straub, a spokesperson for Mayor Linda Gorton’s office, told the Herald-Leader that the decision to request an extension put Lexington and other communities “between a rock and a hard place.”
Legislators told the city they did not know where the money would come from to make up the cost of the extension, but that it could from road projects currently in the biennial road plan, she said.
“Localities are already struggling across the board to keep up with road maintenance and repairs, so this clearly becomes a no win situation,” Straub said. “Fayette County received several projects in the road plan last session, and this could put that funding in jeopardy.”
Straub said the city would “love” to request an extension if it’s guaranteed that road fund projects would not be used to make up the cost of the tax cut.
“Gas prices are too high due to the continued war in Iran, and Americans — including right here in Kentucky — are struggling,” Beshear said in a news release. “Every dollar counts, and my executive order lowered gas and diesel prices across the state to help our families save.”
The average price of gas in Kentucky is $3.74 per gallon, which is 42 cents per gallon less than the national average, according to the American Automobile Association. Kentucky’s average gas price per gallon one month ago was $4.30.
Beshear previously said the order could save Kentuckians $26.8 million per month. Communities whose city leaders did not request an extension will see gas prices rise by 10 cents per gallon starting Thursday, June 11, his office said.
Also included in the extension are: the cities of Alexandria, Ashland, Campton, Carrsville, Clay City, Covington, Drakesboro, Earlington, Eminence, Falmouth, Gamaliel, Glencoe, Island, Jenkins, London, McHenry, Oak Grove, Owensboro, Owingsville, Paintsville, Park City, Sebree, Smithfield, Smiths Grove, West Point, Whitesville and Winchester; and Carter, Graves, Magoffin, Morgan and Wolfe counties.
Republicans push back
Beshear’s office hinted that “pressure from certain state legislators in recent committee hearings” may have influenced community leaders to not request an extension.
Several Republican state lawmakers were critical of Beshear’s executive order at a June 2 interim committee meeting in Frankfort. Rep. John Blanton, R-Salyersville, who co-chairs the interim Joint Committee on Transportation, asked local leaders not to take the extension.
“Do not do this because you’re doing it to your own detriment. It’s harmful,” Blanton said at the recent meeting. “We’re not getting the funds we need now.”
Beshear pushed back in the news release.
“Government is there to help our people, and the state can and will make up any potential financial hit,” Beshear said. “Right now, our priority should be on Kentucky families, and I applaud these local leaders for doing what’s right.”
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman was critical of Beshear when he first signed the gas tax order in May. Coleman was required to sign the order for it to go into effect.
“Of course Kentuckians should have lower gas prices, but Gov. Beshear has vetoed almost every tax cut that’s come to his desk,” Coleman said in a previous statement. “Now, he’s just playing politics and running for president. Kentuckians stand with President Trump, and they’re not buying what the governor is selling.”
Other efforts to lower gas prices
Beshear made other moves in May to lower gas prices, such as freezing the state’s gas tax at 26.4 cents per gallon. The tax was expected to rise to 27 cents per gallon July 1, and freezing the current rate is projected to save Kentuckians about $1.7 million each month, according to Beshear’s office.
Beshear also froze the motor vehicle assessment rate through another executive order. He said the rate was set to rise on Jan. 1, 2027, but the rate will remain the same as it is in 2026. The motor vehicle assessment rate is a property tax on cars.
Beshear also sent two letters to members of Congress, asking them to suspend the federal gas tax for the remainder of the year. He previously said if the federal gas tax is suspended, the price of gas would be reduced by another 18.4 cents per gallon.
