"It's not right for consumers and something's got to be done about it," Huntsman said during a KCPW Radio interview, piggybacking on an idea being considered in more than a dozen states after the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina.

But within hours of his comments, Huntsman's staff seemed to downplay the possibility of suspending the gas tax.

Huntsman Chief of Staff Jason Chaffetz told The Salt Lake Tribune he doesn't expect the proposal to go forward, and spokeswoman Tammy Kikuchi said the governor is not considering calling a special legislative session, which would be necessary to suspend the gas tax.

"He is basically saying he is open to any idea," Kikuchi said. "He is not saying 'yeah, let's do it.' Those ideas must be weighed against the costs."

The hurricane-disrupted oil production in the Gulf of Mexico shot the average price of gas in the Salt Lake City-Ogden area to $2.875 a gallon, according to the AAA. That represents an increase of about 60 cents per gallon in the past month.

After the radio interview, Huntsman's staff asked the governor's office of planning and budget to look into the feasibility of suspending Utah's gas tax for one or two months to help mitigate the price increase.

They found Utah collects about $918,000 a day from the 24.5 cents collected on each gallon - a total of about $27.6 million each month. Most of the money is spent on maintaining state roads, with some going to the Utah Highway Patrol and the State Tax Commission.

One fourth of all road maintenance money goes to cities and counties to maintain their streets, according to House Speaker Greg Curtis.

"Do we just ask them to eat it?" he asked.

Curtis, who heard about the idea Thursday afternoon during a phone call with Senate President John Valentine, said the Legislature should not halt the gas tax without understanding how it will affect the total state budget.

"It is a lot more complicated procedurally than to say, 'just do it,' " he said.

Lawmakers have tried to increase money spent on road maintenance in the past few years. Suspending the tax would mean either funds would be diverted from that effort or lawmakers could use surplus revenue from the past fiscal year. But of $104.8 million in surplus cash, $80.2 million is meant for use by schools.

Valentine said a gas tax moratorium "is something we are definitely interested in looking at. We have seen in the last month that gas prices are really having a real harsh effect on households."

Valentine asked GOP leaders to contact all state senators to gauge their interest.

His main worry is that Utahns may not see gas prices drop significantly if the state temporarily halted tax collections.

Valentine and Huntsman discussed the idea Thursday.

"I think the governor is willing to explore it as an option, but he's not ready to commit to it yet," Valentine said. "But neither am I."

House Rep. Ron Bigelow, R-West Valley City, downplayed the impact the tax suspension would have on consumers.

"I don't understand what [Huntsman's] intent is. After 30 days it just goes right back up," Bigelow said.

"I'm concerned that gas prices will probably stay, unfortunately, a lot higher than they were in the past."

Huntsman also told KCPW that the state was looking into the possibility of price-gouging at gas stations.

mcanham@sltrib.com

Gasoline in Utah

* Utahns consumed more than 985 million gallons from July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005.

* Our gas tax is 24.5 cents per gallon.

* Every day, the average tax collected is $918,686.

* In one month, the average cost of a gallon of gas has gone up nearly 60 cents.