ATLANTA, GA — A state of emergency order to allow truckers to drive more hours and to prevent price gouging for all vehicle fuels was signed Friday by Gov. Brian Kemp. The governor said the declaration was needed to offset the ongoing supply chain disruption and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The declaration is scheduled to begin Saturday and be in effect until May 15.
Kemp’s order suspends state and federal limits on the number of hours a commercial driver can be on the road. The measure prevents trucking companies from forcing “ill or fatigued” drivers from working and requires 10 consecutive hours of rest for commercial drivers who tell their supervisor they need immediate rest.
The state of emergency also prevents price gouging at the pump for all vehicle fuels.
“A month ago, I signed HB304 to temporarily suspend the state gas tax and help counter Biden-flation at the pump,”Kemp tweeted Friday. ” This week, the price of an avg. gallon in GA was down 57 cents. We’ll keep doing our part to lessen the impact of failed policies on Georgians’ wallets.”
The Georgia House unanimously approved legislation to suspend the state’s gas tax on March 11 The Senate voted March 17 to suspend the gas tax and Gov. Brian Kemp signed it into law the next day.
Kemp tweeted then that the temporary suspension of the gas tax would bring temporary relief to Georgia families now that gas prices have reached record highs because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Georgia hit a record high for gas prices on March 11 at $4.29 for a gallon of regular unleaded, according to AAA.
Since then, the price of gas has fallen about 60 cents per gallon. Georgia’s price for regular gas averaged $3.69 a gallon on Friday, according to GasBuddy.
Prices are down 7 cents from a week ago; 56 cents from a month ago; and $1.02 higher than one year ago, GasBuddy said. Gas prices have not gone over $4 since 2008, according to GasBuddy.
Georgia has the seventh-least expense gas in the country, GasBuddy said.
Georgia normally collects a state excise tax of 28.7 cents per gallon on gasoline sales, according to a January 2022 report from American Petroleum Institute. Georgians pay 55.95 cents per gallon accounting for all state and federal taxes and fees.
The average price of a gallon of regular gas Friday across Georgia was:
- Fulton County: $3.87
- Dekalb County: $3.78
- Gwinnett County: $3.73
- Forsyth County: $3.75
- Bartow County: $3.51
- Cherokee County: $3.73
- Cobb County: $3.83
- Paulding County: $3.75
- Douglas County: $3.83