Feb 05 Tucson lawmaker: E-vehicles should be taxed to help pay for roads - Arizona Daily Star

Anticipating a future in which many more Americans drive electric vehicles, a Democratic state lawmaker is proposing they pay a penny-per-mile tax for each mile they drive.

“One of the only ways we pay for our roadways is through gas tax,” said Rep. Steve Farley, D-Tucson. “If they’re not paying into the gas tax system, we need to find a way of closing that loophole and getting them to pay for the roads they use.”

Farley said HB 2257 is modeled on Oregon legislation that would have electric vehicle drivers pay up to 1.43 cents per mile driven starting with 2014 model year.

A bill before the Washington State Legislature would require electric vehicle owners to pay an annual $100 registration fee in lieu of a gas tax.

Arizona’s gas tax, which hasn’t been raised since the early 1990s, stands at 37.4 cents per gallon. Proceeds cover transportation improvements around the state, including roads and highways.

Jim Stack, president of the Electric Auto Association’s Phoenix chapter, said drivers of electric vehicles are willing to pay their fair share.

“Someday it’s all going to be hybrids and electric vehicles,” he said. “It wouldn’t do us any good if we didn’t have any roads.”

Diane Brown, executive director of Arizona Public Interest Research Group, said she supports Farley’s proposal but noted that electric vehicles protect air quality and public health.

“Any policy that is accounting for electric vehicles should be incentivizing, not discouraging, their use,” she said.

Read more of this story Monday in the Arizona Daily Star and on StarNet.