Gas Prices

Dyed diesel — regular diesel with red pigment — is reserved for off road use only, usually by farm and construction equipment. Unlike regular diesel, it is untaxed. With the proclamation, the governor's office aims to alleviate skyrocketing prices at the gas pump. While it increases the supply of diesel, it does not affect the fuel tax, which is 20 cents per gallon.

More than 80% of families report the price of food is increasing faster than their income, according to a new poll from No Kid Hungry Texas. Meanwhile, diesel prices are reaching record highs in Texas, squeezing trucking companies and raising costs throughout the supply chain. Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies reports this hits small trucking companies the hardest. The average price for a gallon of diesel in Lubbock was $6.03 yesterday, up more than a dollar from a month ago.

Inflation has surged to its highest level in more than three years since the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran, triggering a surge in gasoline prices.

Public transportation and electric vehicles aren’t always viable options for rural Americans looking to decrease their spending at the gas pump. West Texas has historically had some of the lowest gas prices in the state, but families are also feeling the pressure. With summer travel building demand, experts worry that serious relief will not be evident for quite some time.

Suspending the federal gas tax would require an act of Congress.

U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico is joining leadership across the aisle, proposing that the federal gas and diesel tax be suspended due to rising prices across the nation. The Texas Newsroom’s Blaise Gainey reports this follows similar requests at the state level. A highly anticipated return to the South Plains by Country Music King George Strait is arriving this weekend. It has booked out hotels across the city and parking through Texas Tech University.

Gas prices in Texas have been rising since the beginning of the war in Iran. The Texas Newsrooms Blaise Gainey reports outgoing Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is asking the governor to suspend the state’s gasoline sales tax. Data centers have been using large amounts of resources in the last year, but the state requires little public disclosure of how much water or electricity these facilities actually use. Researchers are asking Texas lawmakers to change that.