The state Senate unanimously affirmed Tuesday a decision by Gov. Nathan Deal to block an increase in the state gas tax.

The bill now goes back to Deal, who is expected to sign it. The House passed the bill last week.

Deal in late June signed an executive order suspending the tax hike, which normally kicks in automatically. The tax, at 20.4 cents per gallon, would have increased 1.6 cents per gallon.

The freeze, which lasts until the end of the year, required legislative approval.

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Democratic gubernatorial candidate Michael Thurmond spoke to the AJC's Tia Mitchell during a  Politically Georgia forum at The Dogwood at Westside Paper in Atlanta on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (Adam Beam/AJC)

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A migrant farmworker harvests Vidalia onions at a farm in Collins, in 2011. A coalition of farmworkers, including one based in Georgia, filed suit last month in federal court arguing that cuts to H-2A wages will trigger a cut in the pay and standard of living of U.S. agricultural workers. (Bita Honarvar/AJC)

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