The suspension of the 16 cents per gallon tax will be in effect from June 1 until the end of this year.
As gas prices remain near record highs, New York has become the latest state to suspend its gas tax in an effort to give drivers some relief.
The suspension of the 16 cents per gallon tax will be in effect from June 1 until the end of this year, a measure that was supported and promoted in the New York Senate by the Senator of the 32nd District of the Bronx, Luis Sepúlveda.
The national average gallon of gasoline hit $4.62 for regular unleaded gasoline on May 31. This year’s legislation proposed a reduction in fuel taxes that would be in effect until December.
At that time, Senator Sepúlveda promoted and supported the measure, adding that this would bring direct relief to the pockets of consumers already badly treated by the pandemic.
Recall that, in New York, gasoline prices also reached a record in late May at $4.93 per gallon.
The situation has been complicated since February with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but even before then, gasoline prices were rising as demand rose with the easing of pandemic-related restrictions.
New York Senate Changes Definition of “Firearms”
On the other hand, and in a historic measure, State Senator Luis Sepúlveda submitted a project that was approved in the New York Senate to update the definition of “firearm” as contemplated in the law.
“As we know, the United States is experiencing difficult times due to gun violence and New York is no exception. In recent days innocent people have died in a mass shooting in Buffalo and communities such as the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan have seen an increase in armed incidents,” said Sepúlveda.
He added that one of the tools used by criminals are the so-called “ghost weapons” which are weapons bought in parts and then assembled, but that do not leave any trace or record and that were not considered until now by law.
Senator Sepúlveda’s measure would radically change the definition of “Firearm” including these devices or any other that uses an explosion mechanism to fire a projectile.
“This is a transcendental measure,” said Rusking Pimentel, director of Communications in the New York Senate. “We would be changing everything related to the penalties that a person would face if he commits a crime with one of these weapons and making them more severe, in addition to all the legislation that includes the definition of a firearm.”
With Senator Sepúlveda’s measure, New York takes the lead in the United States in the quest to control gun violence.
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