Indiana Governor Frank O'Bannon on Tuesday invoked a 1981 law allowing him to suspend the sales tax on gasoline for 60 days. O'Bannon's decision is expected to shave 7 cents to 10 cents off a gallon of gas, depending on the price.
The governor's directive comes as gas prices in the Midwest have risen to around the $2-a-gallon level. Federal regulators and congressional committees are gearing up to question oil company executives about their pricing decisions.
The governor of Illinois appears ready to join O'Bannon. Gov. George Ryan today called for a special session of the state legislature to consider temporarily suspending Illinois' sales tax on gasoline before the 4th of July, according to chicagotribune.com.
Ryan said he would call a special session June 29 in Springfield to consider suspending the 5 percent sales tax on fuel from July 1 through Jan. 1. The 19 cents-per-gallon state motor fuel tax would remain in place, he said.