State Sen. Sean Logan, D-Monroeville, announced today that he will introduce a bill in Harrisburg to suspend the 31.2-cents-per-gallon state gasoline tax until Oct. 31.

Mr. Logan, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the state is expecting "hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue surpluses" when the fiscal year ends June 30. This money could be used to make up for revenue lost by suspending the state gasoline tax, he said.

"Therefore, I see no reason why we cannot suspend this tax temporarily without disrupting the services provided from the revenue generated by this tax," he said.

Mr. Logan's legislation comes as gasoline prices hover around $3 a gallon. Gov. Ed Rendell has proposed a federal tax penalty if oil companies are found to be guilty of price gouging.

Mr. Logan's bill also would authorize the state attorney general's office to investigate complaints of price collusion and create a state committee to review whether the state could do anything else to ease the pain of rising gas prices. The committee also would recommend whether the tax suspension should continue after Oct. 31.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.