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Oklahoma senators are trying to make sure drivers notice a little relief at the gas pump instead of watching it vanish into government math tricks faster than a Buc-ee’s brisket sandwich on a road trip. Senate Appropriations Chairman Chuck Hall and Grant Green helped push House Bill 1370 through the Senate this week after discovering an obscure state law that would automatically raise Oklahoma’s fuel tax if Congress suspends the federal gas tax. Somewhere deep in the dusty filing cabinet of old laws, somebody thought, “You know what people love during high gas prices? More taxes.” The bill would repeal that provision and allow Oklahomans to actually keep the savings if the federal gas tax is paused under a proposal backed by Donald Trump.

Green said families and small businesses are already getting hammered by rising fuel costs and blamed outdated “Democratic-era tax policies” still hanging around like a cassette copy of a Jimmy Carter speech in somebody’s garage. Hall added that “pain at the pump” has become one of the top concerns he hears from constituents, which makes sense considering filling up a pickup lately feels a lot like paying a mortgage. The Senate passed HB 1370 by a 41-7 vote, sending the measure back to the House for final approval. If signed into law, the bill would make sure any federal fuel tax suspension actually benefits drivers instead of quietly boomeranging back into state government coffers. The people of Oklahoma generally prefer their gasoline tanks full and their tax surprises empty.