Hawaii Governor Josh Green said he is considering pausing the state’s gasoline tax as pump prices surge three months into the Iran war.

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The state has among the highest gasoline prices in the United States, averaging $5.58 per gallon, up more than $1 from last year’s $4.48. “Right now, gas prices are skyrocketing. I’m contemplating a pause on state and county taxes on gas for part of the summer, just to give people maybe 30 cents a gallon relief,” Green said in a statement to Reuters.

The governor is reviewing various options, including executive actions, his office said.

Revenue from the taxes is used to fund the state’s infrastructure, including maintenance of roadways and bridges. The American Automobile Association estimates the national average gasoline price per gallon at $4.15, up more than $1 from a year earlier. Although prices are significantly higher than 2025, the national average has eased from last month’s $4.52. California, Washington, Hawaii, Alaska and Oregon are the worst hit states, with average prices ranging between $5.07 and $5.83 per gallon, according to AAA.

The averages in those states ranged between $3.64 and $4.68 a year ago. Only a handful of states, notably Indiana and Georgia, have taken concrete steps to provide relief. Utah has passed a law cutting the state’s tax by 15% from July to December.

The ongoing conflict has strangled the movement of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s daily oil supply traveled prior to the conflict.

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“High energy prices are a global problem, and the hard truth is that there’s no way for states to fix this,” Carl Davis, research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, told Reuters.

“They can nibble around the edges with a gas tax holiday, but even if the tax is suspended we’ll all still be paying a lot more for gas than before this war started. The size of these gas price hikes we’re all facing is just too large to be fixed with a tax holiday.” More than six in 10 Americans say their household’s finances have taken a hit from higher gas prices, according to a May Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Data from Moody’s Analytics, which was shared with CNBC, found that the average U.S. household has spent almost $450 extra on fuel-related expenses since the Iran war started on February 28.

That figure could reach nearly $2,000 at the one-year mark, if the war continues, according to Moody’s. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he expects gas prices to come down once the conflict ends. Oil industry experts say that even if the U.S. and Iran agree to a peace deal, fuel prices will remain under pressure for some time, as it will be many months before Middle East production and exports return to pre-war levels.

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