ATLANTA --- Georgians can celebrate a reduction in the state's gasoline tax as they welcome in the New Year. But it will mean less revenue for transportation projects.

The state tax was lowered by 4 cents per gallon to 14.6 cents starting Thursday. Georgia's gas tax is adjusted twice a year based on the average price of gas. When that average price dips -- as it has in recent months -- the tax goes down as well. Gov. Sonny Perdue rescinded an executive order he issued in June that froze the tax as prices skyrocketed over the summer.

The reduction cuts millions of dollars for the state Department of Transportation, which had a $456 million budget deficit for the fiscal year that ended July 31, according to an audit report in September.

"Our costs are going up and our revenues are declining," DOT spokesman David Spear said Friday. "We're trying to prioritize our projects and do the things that are most needed."

The price at the pump in Georgia is the lowest in four years: an average of $1.45 a gallon for regular unleaded, a figure not seen since spring 2004.

The state recalculates the gas tax every six months through a formula based on the average price around Georgia. Mr. Perdue suspended the recalculation of the tax over the summer, halting what would have been a 2.9-cent-per-gallon jump in the tax. Gas prices at the time were soaring to $4 per gallon.

The Department of Revenue estimates the suspension saved motorists $60.4 million through November.

It also marked a drop for the DOT. In November, the last month data is available, total motor fuel taxes were down 7.5 percent, from $88.6 million the previous year to $82.1 million, Mr. Spear said.

A proposal to allow counties to group together and impose a regional sales tax to pay for transportation projects failed to pass in last year's General Assembly by one vote. The Legislature is expected to try to tackle a statewide transportation plan in the session beginning this month.