TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Just in time for holiday travel, families are seeing some of the highest gas prices of the year. In the Tampa Bay area, we are paying an average of $3.34 a gallon – up 13 cents from last week. It’s also $1.35 more than this same time last year. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is proposing a plan that could bring some relief, but how long until it would take effect?

While making stops in Daytona and Jacksonville on Monday, Gov. DeSantis put blame for the cost of gas on the Biden administration.

“Obviously, this is being driven by inflationary policies out of Washington,” Gov. DeSantis said. “This is really, really serious.”

We all pay a variety of taxes on each gallon of gas. Gov. DeSantis proposed freezing the tax that he has some control over – the state tax.

The proposal is to suspend the collection of the state sales and transportation tax and the county and municipal fuel tax.

Gov. DeSantis says the tax relief, more than $1 billion, would be fully funded by the state’s reserves and, once enacted, it would likely save Floridians 25 cents a gallon at the pump.

“The average family over a five or six month period could save up to $200,” Gov. DeSantis said.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, a Democrat who is running for governor, called on DeSantis last week to push for the immediate suspension of the state’s gas tax.

“Governor DeSantis is a day late and a dollar short,” Crist in a statement released Monday. “Last week’s not-so-special session should have addressed this issue instead of focusing on making COVID easier to spread.”

So when can you expect to see some relief while filling your tank?

“We’re confident the legislature will support this proposal so that it will be enacted next year after the new budget (FY 2022-23) comes into effect,” the governor’s office told 8 On Your Side.

In Florida, the fiscal year runs through June 30. So our understanding is you’d see the savings at the pump on July 1, 2022.

We’ve reached out to House Speaker Chris Sprowls and Senate President Wilton Simpson’s office to see if there are any plans to somehow expedite that.