The state Senate has rejected a proposal to increase the state’s gas tax.
The bill had already passed the House, and would have increased the tax by 12 cents, or 67 percent.
Republican Senator Jeb Bradley said such an increase would hurt families that are already financially stressed.
“A 12 cent increase in the gas tax is a large increase in the gas tax, and it will hurt the very people that we are sent here to protect.”
The Senate voted 18-6 to indefinitely postpone the measure.
That means it could come up again next year, but only if the proposal is substantially different.
The state has not increased the gas tax since 1991.
The Senate also rejected a House-passed measure to hike the tobacco tax by 20 cents.