Lawmakers in California, home to almost half of the nation's electric vehicles, decided this year to impose an annual fee on the owners of plug-in electric cars beginning in 2020.
Meanwhile, Maine is considering an annual fee on both plug-in electric vehicles and more popular hybrids, which run on both gasoline and electricity and recharge as they go. Both kinds of vehicles still make up a tiny share of cars on the road, but supporters of the idea are hopeful that revenue will rise as they become more popular.
State Rep. Andrew McLean, who chairs the Maine Legislature's joint transportation committee, acknowledged that the new fee won't raise a lot of money right away, but he said the move makes sense as a way to "begin the conversation" of tapping more revenue from electric and hybrid vehicles as their numbers grow.
California and Maine are not alone. As the revenue from gasoline taxes decreases with the rise of fuel-efficient vehicles, many states are looking for alternative sources of money to build and maintain their roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
Some states, notably Oregon, are experimenting with a "road use" levy, charging taxes based on how many miles are driven in the state, rather than the fuel used. And a growing number of states are putting tolls on roads, as another way to raise revenue for infrastructure construction and repair.
The scramble for new road revenue is just one way state governments are seeking to reformulate their tax codes, which, like the federal one, have not been overhauled in decades and no longer match the behavior of consumers. They're looking, for example, at how to replace the sales taxes that used to be applied in bricks-and-mortar stores, now that people do so much of their shopping online. They're starting to tax ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, which often pay little of the license fees or taxes that taxi businesses hand over to cities, counties and states.
And because most road repair and construction is financed by taxes on the amount of fuel sold _ and the increasing use of fuel-efficient hybrid and electric cars means states are taking in less money _ states are looking for new sources of revenue. A backlog of state transportation infrastructure needs that tops $3 trillion is only adding to the pressure.
The federal gas tax of 18.4 cents a gallon hasn't been increased since 1993, and thanks to inflation, it buys nearly 40 percent less than it did then, while construction costs have continued to rise.
Many states also resisted gas tax increases, but some, including California and Tennessee, have recently relented and hiked the levies. Many states are starting to index their gas taxes to keep up with inflation. And increasingly, they are imposing fees on new fuel-efficient vehicles.
As of April 2017, 10 states imposed an additional registration fee on electric or hybrid vehicles, ranging from $50 to $200 annually, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, or NCSL. They include Colorado, Georgia (which charges $200, more than any other state), Idaho, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.
This year, some 27 states have considered increasing fees on electric, hybrid and other vehicles powered by alternative fuels such as liquefied natural gas, an uptick from past years, said NCSL's Kevin Pula. They include Alabama, Arizona, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine and Massachusetts, as well as California and Tennessee, where laws were enacted in April.
Under the Obama administration, Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency standards were increased, requiring automakers to build fleets that average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. President Donald Trump has threatened to reduce those standards, but manufacturers are consistently producing vehicles with higher mileage ratings, and Pula warned that could mean bigger hits for states that rely on a traditional gas tax.
"If we do get to 54.5 miles per gallon, that's going to be a much more significant hit than we have seen over the past several years," Pula said.
