Gov. Kemp Temporarily Waives State Gas Tax Due To Pipeline Outage

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Gov. Brian Kemp walks to board an airplane Tuesday, May 11, 2021, at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport after announcing he was suspending state taxes on gasoline and diesel through Saturday.

Credit: AP/Jeff Amy

Gov. Brian Kemp has signed an executive order suspending state taxes on motor fuels through Saturday to offset increasing prices after a computer hack shut down a pipeline that carries fuel to much of Georgia.

Kemp said he wants to provide price relief from increasing fuel prices because of the Colonial Pipeline outage. Georgia collects a gasoline tax of 28.7 cents a gallon and a diesel tax of 32.2 cents a gallon.

Kemp urged people not to hoard gasoline, saying he expects quick relief from the supply crunch. Kemp’s order also waives weight limits on tanker trucks that carry fuel to stations, to maximize deliveries by truck. The order also prohibits price gouging by what the Governor calls  bad actors. 

"We expect these measures to be temporary as Colonial plans to be fully up and running later this week. There is no need to rush to the gas station to fill up every tank you have and hoard gas. With the measures we have taken today, I am hopeful we can get more supply to stations and get through to this weekend when we hope Colonial will return to normal," said Kemp.

Attorney General Chris Carr's office has set up a hotline where people can report price gouging. 

The White House said it's monitoring supply shortages in parts of the Southeast and President Joe Biden has directed federal agencies to bring their resources to bear. Colonial Pipeline delivers about 45% of the fuel consumed on the East Coast.

The FBI said the criminal syndicate whose ransomware was used in the attack is named DarkSide, whose members are Russian speakers. The Russian government denied any involvement.