(KENTUCKY) — Governor Andy Beshear issued an emergency order to freeze Kentucky’s scheduled gas-tax increase, stopping the rate from rising in July and keeping the state levy at 26.4 cents per gallon instead of allowing it to climb to 27 cents per gallon.

Beshear announced the order on May 5, 2026. His administration tied the freeze to an effort to ease fuel costs for drivers across the state.

The scheduled change would have raised the tax by 0.6 cents, taking it from 26.4 cents per gallon to 27 cents per gallon. The order blocks that increase from taking effect in July.

Beshear also said a gas-tax cut he proposed would remain in effect for 30 days if approved. After that period, he said he would discuss possible extensions with local officials.

The move follows a path Beshear’s administration used earlier in his tenure. In 2022, his administration filed an emergency regulation to freeze the state gas tax and prevent a 2-cent-per-gallon increase that would have taken effect on July 1, 2022.

That earlier action relied on the same legal mechanism described in this year’s order: emergency action by the governor to stop a higher fuel tax from taking effect on its scheduled date. In both cases, the immediate effect was the same. Drivers did not face the increase that had been set to begin in July.

The latest order leaves Kentucky motorists paying the current rate rather than the higher figure that had been scheduled. At a time when fuel prices remain a daily concern for commuters, delivery drivers and rural households that rely heavily on cars and trucks, the freeze keeps the state portion of the gasoline tax from rising.

Beshear’s announcement linked the order directly to fuel costs rather than to a broader tax overhaul. The action does not rewrite the tax structure described in the state schedule; it halts the planned July increase through emergency authority.

His separate proposal for a temporary gas-tax cut points to a second layer of relief beyond the freeze itself. Under Beshear’s plan, that cut would last 30 days if approved, and he said he would then confer with local officials on whether it should continue.

The timeline matters for state drivers because the scheduled increase was approaching quickly when Beshear acted on May 5, 2026. By issuing the emergency order ahead of July, the governor moved before the higher rate could take effect.

Kentucky’s gas tax, as described in the order, was on track to rise to 27 cents per gallon. Instead, the freeze preserves the existing 26.4 cents per gallon rate.

Beshear’s use of an emergency order this year, and an emergency regulation in 2022, shows a consistent approach to stopping fuel-tax increases that were already on the calendar. In 2022, the blocked increase was 2 cents per gallon; this time, the halted rise would have been 0.6 cents.

State officials framed the latest action around immediate consumer costs. The governor’s office connected the freeze to easing pressure at the pump, while leaving open the possibility of a longer period of relief if the proposed gas-tax cut wins approval and local officials support an extension.

For now, the practical effect is narrow and direct: Kentucky’s scheduled July increase will not lift the gasoline tax to 27 cents per gallon. Beshear’s emergency order keeps the rate where it is, at 26.4 cents per gallon, while his administration weighs whether a broader temporary reduction can last beyond the initial 30 days.