SB 5444, to impose a mileage tax on owners of electric and hybrid vehicles https://www.washingtonpolicy.org/library/doclib/Frost-SB-5444-to-impose-a-mileage-tax-on-owners-of-electric-and-hybrid-vehicles.pdf Text of SB 5444 SB 5444 would require the WSTC and state Department of Licensing (DOL)...
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SB 5444, to impose a mileage tax on owners of electric and hybrid vehicles
https://www.washingtonpolicy.org/li...on-owners-of-electric-and-hybrid-vehicles.pdf
Text of SB 5444 SB 5444
would require the WSTC and state Department of Licensing (DOL) to create a plan for implementing a per-mile charge on electric and hybrid vehicles by December 1, 2022. The plan would include mileage reporting options, recommended rates and collection methods, options for working with other states or countries in developing and administering the RUC, options for payment plans as well as offsets and rebates, a governance structure and transition plan with the Department of Licensing (DOL) as the lead agency that would operate and administer the RUC, and recommendations relating to privacy protection.
The bill directs that by July 1, 2026, electric and hybrid vehicles would pay a RUC of two cents per mile. In June of 2029, that rate would increase to two and one-half cents per mile. This would replace the $150 electric vehicle fee and the $75 transportation electrification fee that EV owners pay now when they renew vehicle registrations., as those fees would be repealed that same year. Drivers who wish to pay a RUC sooner could do so through an early adoption program that would begin in 2025, and could have their EV fees waived.
Money collected from a RUC would be deposited into the Motor Vehicle Fund and used for preservation and maintenance.
Key Facts
1. Senate Bill 5444 would require the Washington State Transportation Commission (WSTC) and state Department of Licensing (DOL) to create a plan for implementing a Road Usage Charge (RUC) on electric and hybrid vehicles by December 1, 2022.
2. The legislation is premature given the artificial cost-drivers officials impose on transportation projects. These should be eliminated before imposing a new tax on the public.
3. Owners of electric vehicles pay $150 each year as a gas tax offset. If lawmakers feel that is too low, they should consider raising it, rather than imposing a new and administratively costly tax to replace it.
4. Privacy protection is a critical element of the RUC, so any potential data vulnerability should be corrected before imposing a RUC system.
5. Rather than rushing implementation of a RUC despite unresolved privacy concerns, a better approach would be to first allow the Commission to complete its federally-funded research over the next few years and report concrete findings back to the legislature.
6. Any per-mile charge should be protected under the state constitution’s 18th Amendment, which protects money for highway purposes only.
7. To increase public trust, lawmakers should reduce artificial cost-drivers in transportation, and take preliminary steps to ensure any per-mile charge directly benefits and protects the drivers who pay it.
