Lawmaker proposes gas tax waiver

A Republican state lawmaker's call to temporarily waive the state's gasoline tax created a politically sticky situation yesterday for Governor Mitt Romney, who initially dismissed the idea, but later said he ''would be hard-pressed to veto any tax reduction."

Asked by a reporter at a morning news conference whether giving motorists a ''holiday" from the state's 21cents-per-gallon gasoline tax was ''crazy," Romney said it was. The governor called the idea ''an additional incentive to use gasoline and energy."

Later, however, Romney called a Globe reporter to clarify his comment, saying he meant that the proposal made no sense as a long-term solution. The House minority leader, Bradley H. Jones Jr., a Republican, would waive the tax only until Dec. 31.

The episode played out as politicians on Beacon Hill began responding to the spike in gasoline prices: The average price of regular unleaded gas in the Bay State rose to $2.79 yesterday, up 17 cents since Monday, according to the American Automobile Association of Southern New England. Romney said his administration is working on proposals to encourage energy efficiency. Leading Democrats said they were readying their own energy proposals, though a spokeswoman for House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi cautioned against sudden changes in policy.

''While we understand the urge to act quickly, the problem cannot be addressed merely through reactionary proposals," said DiMasi's spokeswoman, Kimberly Haberlin.

Jones said he knows his proposal won't provide long-term relief to Massachusetts motorists, but he contends that it would help them gradually adjust their spending habits to reflect an unfortunate new reality. Jones said waiving the gas tax would cost the state $175 million. Under his plan, the state would plug that hole with other money.

''Drive by a gas station and look at the board and see what the price is, and drive by a day later and see what the price is, and that's your argument for it," Jones said. ''It's something we can do to take the edge off as people try to acclimate to the idea that we are probably facing a permanently higher price for gas."

Jones said his gas-tax break is one of several energy proposals he will put forward once the Legislature returns to work after Labor Day. He also will propose the elimination of the excise tax on clean-fuel or hybrid vehicles, a tax credit on the purchase of clean-fuel vehicles, and a sales-tax holiday for energy-efficient appliances.

Gas prices and energy policy were hot topics at the State House yesterday. After introducing the new commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Romney launched into a wide-ranging discourse on the nation's energy challenges. Romney joked about a cardigan-clad President Carter exhorting Americans to turn down their thermostats during the energy crisis of the 1970s. But then Romney issued his own call for conservation, saying ''we're going to have to rethink how we use energy in our society."

''We as individual families and as citizens need to find ways to conserve energy, to utilize it more efficiently," he said. ''It's an amazing fact. You've seen that almost everything in America has gotten more efficient over the decade -- except the fuel economy of the vehicles we drive, that's become more inefficient."

Romney, whose auto-executive father invented the term ''compact car," appeared to be departing from the conservative Republican position that the best way to reduce the price of oil is to find more of it. But later in the day, the possible presidential candidate emphasized that he did not necessarily support tougher fuel-efficiency standards.

Romney declined to comment on the Bush administration's plan, unveiled earlier this month, to stiffen those standards. Democrats and environmental groups have criticized the proposed changes as insufficient.

Instead, Romney predicted that simple economics will curb the popularity of sport utility vehicles and other gas-guzzlers.

''I actually believe that by virtue of the rise in gasoline prices, which I believe is a long-term phenomenon, that you will see a reversal of that trend," he said.

Romney and his wife own a 1985 BMW, a 2002 Chevrolet Silverado pickup, a 2005 Cadillac SRX, and a new Ford Mustang. The governor said that he doesn't plan to trade in any of those vehicles right away but that ''there's no question that the next time I purchase an automobile for Ann and me, fuel efficiency will weigh more heavily than it did last time."

Scott Greenberger can be reached at greenberger@globe.com.