State Sen. Rob Garagiola Doesn't Support Gas Tax
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- State Sen. Rob Garagiola says he doesn't support Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposal to apply Maryland's 6-percent sales tax to gasoline purchases.
Garagiola's break with his fellow Democrat comes as he's running for Congress in the redrawn 6th District, which includes western Maryland and is more conservative than his Senate district in Montgomery County.
Last year, Garagiola made an unsuccessful push to raise Maryland's gas tax by 10 cents per gallon to raise money for
transportation projects.
But Garagiola says the sales tax could end up adding another 18 cents per gallon to gas prices. He tells the Frederick News-Post that lawmakers "have to be sensitive to the economy" and "to people's pocketbooks."
He says he would be more open to a scaled-back gas tax proposal.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
