The Republican caucus of the Nassau County Legislature has proposed a bill that would eliminate the county portion of sales tax on gasoline over $2 a gallon. However, the Presiding Officer of the Legislature Judy Jacobs is concerned with the impact such an action would have on the county budget.

Just recently, the state legislature passed a bill that would freeze the state sales tax on gasoline at $2 per gallon, meaning consumers would pay sales tax on $2 per gallon for gasoline even though prices have soared above $3 per gallon. The bill has been signed into law by Governor Pataki and will go into effect June 1.

The Nassau County Republican legislators want to also cap the county sales tax at $2 per gallon. "We want to be ready to give much needed tax relief on the ever-increasing price of gasoline to our residents. We want Nassau County to be ready to not only join in eliminating the state sales tax over $2 per gallon but also the county tax on the same amount," said Legislative Minority Leader Peter Schmitt.

According to a press release sent out by the Republican caucus, as the summer approaches, residents are expected to use their cars more. Schmitt also took a shot at County Executive Tom Suozzi, referring to Suozzi's idea of collecting tolls on the Long Island Expressway. "If the administrators of Nassau County would stop thinking about taxing our residents and proposing new tolls on our highways, they could begin to attempt to eliminate some of the taxes all our residents pay," Schmitt said.

However, the Republican proposal may not be a slam dunk. Presiding Officer Jacobs warns of the impact such a cap on gasoline sales tax may have on the revenues that go into the county budget. "In their bill, they had absolutely no financial indicator on what the result would be on the Nassau County budget," said Jacobs.

Jacobs said the comptroller, the office of independent budget review and the finance director are doing research on what impact the bill would have on the county's budget.

According to Jacobs, from the information she received, a person who travels 12,000 miles per year will perhaps save about $25 annually. However, the bill could cost the county between $14 and $16 million is lost revenue, Jacobs said.

"We all are buying this gas and I want to help the consumer as much as we can. At the same time, we have a responsibility to make certain the county can withstand what this will do to it. The first reports coming out is that it's a very serious hit to the budget," Jacobs said.

Jacobs said the county legislature is still in the process of researching what the impact will be.