As families hit the road for Memorial Day weekend, effort continues in slowing prices at the pump.
Sen. John Mannion and Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter spoke about the state suspension on gas taxes on Friday.
Set to go into effect on June 1, it will save drivers $0.16 per gallon.
The legislation to lower the state portion of taxes also gave counties permission to reduce their local gas taxes.
Oswego and Onondaga counties have both taken steps.
"We would love to have been able to do it in advance of Memorial Day,” Hunter said. “Our tax structure is very complex. We were able to do this with our portion. There's obviously a lot of different taxes involved in the pricing of gasoline and things that we are not able to make changes for so this was a clean date, unfortunately, it didn't entail the exact weekend, but it will be right in time for summer."
"Rising gas prices hurt families and our economy and we are doing everything possible at the state level to lower costs for Central New Yorkers," Mannion said in a statement. "The state gas tax suspension and the state-authorized Onondaga County gas tax cap will both take effect on June 1st. While this will provide some immediate relief at the pump, it is clear our leaders in Washington must take additional action to return gas prices to the levels we are all accustomed to.”
They estimate over $600 million in savings for residents.
The suspension lasts until the end of the year.