The last gas I bought was in Amarillo, Thursday, and it was $1.59. That's slightly higher than the $1.53 I could get with my grocery store discount, but still not too bad. Not as good as imarolan12's $1.37, but still OK.
When it comes to gasoline taxes, Texas hasn't had an increase in over a decade. Adjusted for inflation, the gasoline tax is currently lower that it was after the last increase. Our roads need a lot of work. But our Beloved Legislature is firmly in the "no tax increase" camp, so instead of a gasoline tax, the Lege is dipping into the state's Rainy Day Fund (officially the Texas State Economic Stability Fund) and spending a billion dollars on a one time fix. That sounds impressive, but still leaves the Texas Department of Transportation short of what it really needs to fix our problems, and doesn't address long term needs.
With the state budget running something like a $1.1 billion a year surplus, you might think we could do something a bit more proactive. Shit! We might even restore the $500 million in K-12 education cuts the Lege made 4 years ago. Younger Child had enough credits to graduate from High School in her Junior year, but state law doesn't permit that. She could drop out and get a G.E.D. , but that's sort of a stigma. So, one of the courses she is taking this year is a college credit Speech course. The class has a High School teacher who serves as a proctor for the class which is entirely online. The actual college instructor for the class reviews student performance weekly. Tell me that isn't some lame ass bullshit!