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RALEIGH – North Carolina no longer has a maximum on the tax rate it collects on gas.

The new law took effect Wednesday after lawmakers voted to remove the cap.

Although more than $4-a-gallon gas prices put the squeeze on consumers last summer, the state didn't see any extra money because of the cap. That resulted in a budget deficit and fewer road repairs. That's why lawmakers decided to make the change.

About 30 cents of what consumers pay for gas goes to the state, and while that used to be the maximum, it's now the minimum.

Drivers say they're not fans of paying more, especially as they see their paychecks decrease.

"We're going to spend most of our money on gas. So that's taking food out of our kids' mouths," driver Rashondia Young said. "How are we going to pay our bills? I'm a single parent. I have to pay bills."

N.C. State economist Mike Walden said high gas prices aren't good for the local economy.

"In the short run, people are locked in, pretty much, to their driving habits. It's very hard for people to cut back on the amount of driving they do in short period of time," Walden said. "So, quite frankly, what people have to do in order to afford those higher gas prices, they have to cut back on other kinds of spending."

But Walden said gas prices should be on the way down because the economy has not rebounded as strongly as market speculators thought. And if gas prices do go up because of an increase in the state gas tax, Walden said it could pay off in the long run.

"We certainly would not like any tax to go up in a recession, but if our roads are in such a condition where a lot of them need repair, we need additional capacity, at least raising the gas tax – and of course drivers are directly going to pay that – the drivers are getting something back," Walden said.