Pennsylvanians pay the highest state gas tax in the nation at 61 cents per gallon. That is on top of the 18.4 cents per gallon for the federal gas tax drivers pay in every state. Gas tax money is used for road repairs, but electric vehicle (EV) drivers don’t buy gas, and so don’t contribute to the upkeep of roads.
That is why the Pennsylvania House Transportation Committee has begun talking about how to capture road use fees from EV users.
“As the legislature we need to be certain that our roads and bridges can still be maintained, repaired, and replaced, and provide the proper funding to do so,” Democratic state Rep. Ed Neilson, Transportation Committee chairman said during a hearing Monday that explored the issue.
“As we continue to switch from gas power to electric, we can no longer depend on gas taxes to be the sole source of funding to maintain our infrastructure and roadways.”
More than 30 states have already enacted some type of electric vehicle user fee, Neilson said.
“Currently, there are dozens of proposals regarding electric vehicles in Pennsylvania,” he said.
“Everything from being totally exempt from just about every toll and every tax under the sun, to the more complicated proposals that require self-remittance of fees and are dependent on individuals being truthful and willing to pay ... we must recognize the fact our country is at the beginning stages of changing from gas-powered vehicles, to electric vehicles,” he said.
Road User Fee
Federal and state gas taxes account for 74 percent of Pennsylvania’s road funding, according to testimony at the hearing in the Capitol building in Harrisburg. But gas-powered vehicles have become noticeably more fuel efficient, and more EVs hit the road each year, eroding road funding.It is an issue many states are addressing, with some already implementing EV road user fees.
“Currently, EV fees range from $50 to upwards of $230 a year with Georgia and Alaska levying the highest fees on EV drivers,” testified Nick Miller, a Pennsylvania state policy lead at the Electrification Coalition, a nonprofit organization working to accelerate the adoption of EVs.
Pennsylvania has one of the highest gas taxes in the nation, Miller said; therefore, it is understandable that the state would have one of the highest fees for EVs. At the current 61 cents a gallon rate, Pennsylvania drivers contribute roughly $290 a year in state gas taxes, which amounts to roughly 2.4 cents per mile, Miller offered as a starting point for a formula to calculate a fee.
After being opposed for years, automakers now support a user fee, testified Wayne Weikel, Vice President of government affairs at the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade association representing the automakers that manufacture nearly 98 percent of all new vehicles sold in the United States annually.
“Our members are committed to a decarbonized transportation future,” Weikel said. “Globally, the automakers have committed to over $1.2 trillion of [research and development] before 2030.
Today some 90 EVs are for sale, but the variety is expected to expand to 130 by 2030.
“We recognize, for states who have for years supplied funding for the roadways based on the gas tax, you'll need to recoup those monies from other avenues that would have otherwise been collected from the gas tax,” Weikel said.
“We believe that EV drivers should be paying their fair share. It’s just how one captures that fair share is the important question.”
Ultimately, he said the user fee makes the most sense.
The committee also seems to lean toward a user fee but is not the only option.
The tax could be paid while charging, but they felt the plan had some technical challenges.
They discussed charging a tax per mile driven and collecting the amount owed annually with the vehicle registration fee. Or they could take an annual odometer reading or install a GPS-enabled device that tracks the number of miles driven or allow cell phones to track mileage. The committee quickly dismissed ideas that involved tracking movement, recognizing it as unpopular with the public.
The state does want to incentivize more EV use to cut down on air pollution and improve the air for better public health, Rep. Joe McAndrew, a Democrat said in the hearing. He mentioned his children have lung issues.
“Why are we not taxing or feeing gas vehicles and disincentivizing gas vehicles for the pollution that they’re creating in the air?” McAndrew said.
