Can State Lawmakers Make the Case for Road Charges?

As gas tax revenues dwindle thanks to electric and other more fuel-efficient vehicles, states are looking to new sources of transportation funding. But as Jared Brey reports in Governing, a road user fee based on vehicle miles traveled (VMT) is still a hard sell in most places.

To date, Oregon offers a voluntary road user charge program, Utah lets EV drivers opt for a VMT charge instead of a flat fee, and Hawai’i launched an optional VMT fee this year. Over a dozen states have pilot programs funded by the 2015 federal FAST Act. “They’ve helped answer questions about how to track mileage accurately while protecting drivers’ privacy, and some states have collaborated on programs that could track mileage on interstate travel.”

This year, three states — Massachusetts, Illinois, and Washington — are considering legislation to pass some kind of VMT charges. Revenue from the charges could help fill the massive budget gaps faced by transit agencies such as the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and Chicago-area transit systems. One Washington state senator approached it as an equity issue, noting that rural residents with less fuel-efficient vehicles tend to bear the brunt of the gas tax.

Not all states are moving away from the gas tax. A proposal in the Mississippi legislature would eliminate the state’s income tax — already one of the lowest in the country and one-third of the state’s budget — and raise the gas tax.

With the politics of road user fees often being unpredictable, it remains to be seen how the Trump administration will approach the issue when it comes to federal funding and policy.