Kentucky Governor Freezes and Cuts Gas Tax as Pump Prices Top $4

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, announced emergency steps Tuesday to ease the cost of gasoline, including a freeze on the state gas tax and a 10-cent-a-gallon cut, as prices stay above $4 a gallon, which he blames on the war with Iran. The Republican attorney general, Russell Coleman, whose signature is required for part of the plan, said he will sign but accused the governor of “playing politics,” Kentucky Today reported.

At a press conference, Beshear said the state average is $4.28 a gallon, up from $2.85 a year ago, and diesel is $5.32, about $2 higher than a year earlier, according to Kentucky Today. “Gas prices have now skyrocketed to more than $4 per gallon in Kentucky,” he said, blaming the Trump administration for “starting a war without thinking through the costs.”

The plan has several parts. An emergency regulation freezes the state gas tax, now 26.4 cents a gallon, and blocks a scheduled increase to 27 cents on July 1. An executive order declares a state of emergency and cuts the tax by 10 cents a gallon effective May 11, though it requires Coleman’s sign-off. Beshear also activated the state’s price-gouging law. A separate order freezes the 2026 motor vehicle assessment rate ahead of an expected increase on Jan. 1, 2027.

Beshear said he has written to Congress urging it to suspend the federal gas tax through the end of 2026, which he said could drop prices by another 18 cents a gallon if Congress approves it. Kentucky Today reported, according to Beshear, that Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, a Republican, has signed similar executive orders; that was not independently confirmed.

Coleman said he will sign and publish an executive order before May 11 so the governor’s order can take effect. He criticized Beshear for vetoing tax cuts and said, “Of course Kentuckians should have lower gas prices.” The attorney general’s role is part of the arrangement that Beshear described.

The squeeze on drivers is national. The Boston Globe reported on Thursday that the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has pushed oil up more than 60 percent, with Brent near $120 a barrel. Bank of America estimated higher gas prices had cost consumers $19 billion, while tax refunds were up $43 billion from a year earlier, the Globe reported. Fortune reported Sunday that analysts warn inventories in wealthy countries could reach operational minimums between May 9 and May 30.