Fees could see drivers paying hundreds more to adjust for fuel tax revenues
EV owner groups upset over proposed change
Texas is the latest state to look at adding an annual fee to electric car owners to help make up for gas tax shortfalls that come with filling up your vehicle at home. After complaints about the fees, the state’s legislators have revised the bill to raise the annual amount for EVs, leaving Tesla owner groups frustrated.
State bill SB 1728 was originally set to add a $200 fee for owners of electric vehicles as well as other alternative (non-gas or diesel) fuel sources under 6,000 lbs weight classification and $250 for those over that weight (and under 10,000 lbs). Hybrid drivers would pay $40 in the lower weight class and $50 in the higher class. Natural gas powered vehicles would also pay an additional fee based on the amount of gas taxes it was expected to avoid, with said amount calculated annually.
The bill was sent to the house transportation committee for review, and on May 13, reports Clean Technica, the proposed fee structure was raised. The changes to the bill, the report says, would include a $190-$240 EV fee as well as a scaled fee based on vehicle miles travelled and a $10 annual fee that would fund a charging infrastructure advisory council. For a driver covering more than 9,000 miles per year, that would bring total feels to more than $400, the report says.
Tesla owner groups in Texas are opposed to the bill, using the Tesla Engage platform to encourage owners to reach out to their legislators against the bill, calling the fees “unreasonable taxes.”
The state projects that the fees would raise $135.5 million per year by 2026 for the state highway fund. Tesla is currently building a factory in Texas that would see hundreds of thousands of vehicles produced annually in the state.
