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North Carolina Republican legislative leaders are calling for a special General Assembly session to “provide relief from high gas and diesel prices.”
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Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger and House Speaker Destin Hall said in a post on the social media website X Saturday afternoon that they would call legislators back for a special session and that additional details would be released at a future date.
“North Carolina families and farmers are feeling the impacts of rising fuel costs every day,” the X post said. “They need real relief and they need it now.”
The lawmakers did not specify what sort of relief they had in mind, but other states have rolled back gasoline and diesel taxes to bring down the price per gallon.
North Carolinians pay 41 cents per gallon in state fuel taxes and another 18.4 cents in federal gas taxes (the federal tax on diesel is 23.5 cents a gallon). Suspending the state tax would bring Sunday’s statewide average price for gas down to $3.62, still 80 cents a gallon higher than a year ago, according to AAA.
State officials have been reluctant to stop collecting fuel taxes in the past. When gas prices soared in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine, some business groups called on the state to suspend the gas tax to provide relief, but lawmakers did not pursue it.
At the time, a spokesman for Gov. Roy Cooper said the state would need to ensure that any tax cut actually got passed on to consumers and didn’t simply benefit oil companies. And, he noted, the state needs gas tax money to build and maintain roads and bridges. The fuel tax accounts for nearly half of the state revenue for the N.C. Department of Transportation; most of the rest comes from DMV fees and a tax on vehicle title transfers.
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In a news release Saturday, House Democratic Leader Robert Reives called the special session an election distraction.
“After 16 years with nearly complete control of the state, Legislative Republicans have done nothing to make life more affordable for North Carolinians,” Reives said. “In fact, they have made life harder and much more expensive for almost everyone. Now, just weeks before voters can hold them accountable at the ballot box, they are trying the first in what will surely be many attempts to distract from their horrible record.”
Gas prices spiked after the United States and Israel went to war with Iran last winter and have remained high because of threats to oil production and shipping in the Middle East. Sunday’s average of $4.03 per gallon in North Carolina is $1.28 a gallon more than when the war started.
Diesel prices have risen even higher since February, from under $4 a gallon in February to more than $6 now.
Last week Gov. Josh Stein directed state staff to suspend penalties for using off-road diesel in trucks and other on-road vehicles, The News & Observer previously reported. That would allow farmers to use tax-free diesel fuel on roads as well as on field equipment.
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This story was originally published October 3, 2026 at 6:21 PM.