New York Republicans call for gas tax suspension amid Colonial Pipeline shutdown

(The Center Square) – Top-level New York State Senate Republicans on Wednesday called for the temporary suspension of the state’s gas tax. The move comes on the heels of last Friday’s cyberattack on the largest fuel pipeline within the U.S.

State Sens. Rob Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, and Andrew Lanza, R-Staten Island, are calling for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to lift the tax at a time when consumers across the east coast are filling up their tanks more frequently, fearing shortages.

The Colonial Pipeline, which runs from Texas to New Jersey, went offline May 7 when hackers locked up its computer systems and demanded a ransom for operations to resume.

Portions of the pipeline resumed operations May 10 through a manual process, and most of the remaining processes were restarted late Wednesday. But the pipeline’s operator warned that it would be several more days before deliveries returned to normal.

Ortt, who is the Senate Republican leader, and Lanza, deputy Senate Republican leader, called on Cuomo to put the brakes on the gas tax at a time when surging demand is bringing concerns of price increases, which were on the rise before the cyberattack.

“Gas prices in New York have now gone over $3 a gallon – the first time in over six years that prices have reached this level,” Ortt and Lanza wrote in the joint letter. “State and local sales taxes add approximately 20 cents per gallon in New York, among the nation’s highest.”

Cuomo on Wednesday did not comment directly on the call to end the gas tax. But other members in his cabinet have indirectly weighed in on the matter.

In a joint statement, Basil Seggos, commissioner of the state department of environmental conservation, and Doreen Harris, CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, said they have not received reports of supply shortages or price spikes within the state.

“The state will continue to work closely with our federal and state partners, as well as fuel distributors, to monitor the issue and safeguard the supply chain for all New Yorkers,” Seggos and Harris said.

The Colonial Pipeline, which supplies about 45 percent of the fuel consumed along the Eastern Seaboard, has had a more pronounced impact further down the coast.

More than 1,000 gas stations reportedly ran out of fuel in such states as Georgia and Florida and panic-buying tapped resources more quickly than usual.

On Tuesday, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp suspended the state’s gas tax through Saturday by way of an executive order. The move, Kemp said, is aimed at curbing the frenzied visits to gas pumps.

New York’s gas tax of 43.12 cents per gallon is the seventh highest in the U.S. California’s gas tax of 62.47 cents per gallon is the highest in the nation.

While much of the attention on the cyberattack has focused on fuel supplies, the incident also has renewed calls to invest in protecting critical infrastructure, such as pipelines.

State Assemblyman Colin Schmitt, R-New Windsor, on Wednesday called on President Joe Biden and his administration to work with Congress in addressing the issue. He pointed out ransomware attacks last year increased 300 percent.

“Cyber attacks have become increasingly common and have impacted hospitals, schools, police departments and city governments,” Schmitt said in a statement. “Computer hackers from Russia, Iran and China, among others, have attacked dams, water treatment facilities and other critical infrastructure.”

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