Pump pain can be a nuisance to odometers if Olympia’s proposal to charge a mile-driven driver in Olympia provides traction.
As fuel efficiency and electric vehicles become more common and gas tax revenues drop, self-reported miles-worth honorary systems could generate new types of funds to maintain state highways. , Senator Jake Fay said. Tacoma introduced the bill.
Road royalties have been investigated and discussed in Washington since 2012, and Fey has failed twice in previous sessions, moving the bill out of the House Transportation Committee, which he leads.
Fay said he was confident. bill This year we will gain support this year by pointing to the number of new lawmakers and the fatigue of lawmakers in the ongoing response to insufficient transport revenue and delayed projects.
“As we’re facing, this year, we’ve been short on transportation revenue. If we don’t start this, the strong possibility is to continue the pattern,” Fay said at a press conference. last week. “Without new funding solutions, roads, bridges and ferries in Washington will get worse.”
Reema Griffith, executive director of the Washington State Transport Board, said it’s time for states to adopt per mile billing, and that many other states are studying or already enacting ideas. Ta.
“That’s not a novel idea,” she told members of the House Transportation Committee last week. There are existing programs in Oregon, Utah, Hawaii and Virginia. The Virginia program has 32,000 participants. A further 22 states are investigating similar claims, while the other 14 are already investigating fees on pilot projects or are currently exploring them.
A survey conducted in Washington Shows increased support for fees. In 2017, only 31% of respondents supported it. In 2023, that number rose to 56%.
R-Olympia’s Rep. Andrew Barkis is not among his supporters. House Transport Committee Ranking Republicans say road accusations have “so many questions, so many issues, so many unknowns,” not to mention support from all Democrats. He said he would likely get a vote from his caucus.
Barkis said the state needs to rethink its climate policy, but he condemned most of the increased costs of transportation projects before supporting the new tax. He also believed that gas taxes should be eliminated before the per-mile fees were enacted.
“We cannot support this policy because today’s policy exists,” Barkis said. “It requires a lot of work.”
On that face, the idea is simple enough. Currently, 5% of Washington cars are electric or hybrid vehicles. Plus, it has better fuel efficiency than the older models. Drivers of these cars buy less gas, so they don’t contribute much to maintaining the state’s roads. The theory that all drivers contribute equally by replacing gas taxes to generate around $1.3 billion a year and pay a third of the state’s transportation budget.
However, the details become a little more complicated.
Fey said the program will be gradualized and voluntarily launched over a decade.
Starting in 2027, drivers of electric and hybrid vehicles will opt-in to the program and will be able to waive registration fees. Currently, these annual fees are $225 for electric vehicles and $75 for hybrids. Phase 2 will begin in 2029, which is essential for these drivers and is voluntary for those who have at least 20 miles per gallon. In phase 3 running 2031-2035, the state will begin billing for all drivers.
The initial fee is 2.6 cents per mile, with all paid gas taxes being credited to the bill. For example, a car driver who gets 25 mpg will pay around $20 in gas tax for every 1,000 miles. Road fees will cost the same 1,000 miles to $26. So the driver pays just $6 and harmonizes the gas tax with a mile bill.
Drivers pay annually as part of the vehicle registration fee. Fey believes that people will honestly report odometer readings, but if the vehicle is sold and the mileage readings are verified by the state’s licensing department, the inconsistency will be fixed and the program will be revised. He said he would manage it.
Today, Washington gas is taxed at 49.4 cents per gallon. The revenue it generated concluded when it brought in $1.46 billion in 2019. Numbers from the State Transport Revenue Forecast Council. Gas taxes will continue to be collected even if the per mile fee is fully enabled.
The federal gas tax has remained at 18.4 cents per gallon since 1993.
Fay said he chose to self-report GPS tracking due to privacy concerns, but said people could voluntarily use such technology to track their mileage in the future.
The program allows people to earn out-of-state miles credits and earn 200 miles a year “standard mileage deduction.”
Road charging only applies to passenger cars. This means that the heaviest machines on the road (machines over 10,000 pounds like semi-trucks and RVs) don’t pay.
In an interview, Faye said he understood that he wanted the program to be simple, although the “heavy vehicle, the more damage it will be.” He said vehicle fares are likely to rise based on weight as part of the Congressional revenue package this year.
Lawmakers are considering a $1 billion shortfall in transportation funds at Biennium in 2025-27, starting July 1st, due to increased construction costs and lower gas tax revenues.
Lawmakers warn that the project will be cancelled or delayed.
“I get the complaint: ‘You’re not maintaining this, you’re not maintaining it.’ Well, there’s no resources for that,” Faye said. “What we’re talking about here is not some sort of ruffles. It’s something everyone uses.”
