Have you ever had that friend who orders appetizers and drinks with the group, but has a knack for disappearing when the check arrives?
When it comes to the cost of maintaining our nation’s roads and bridges, owners of electric vehicles have been able to duck the bill for years.
You see, the Highway Trust Fund is collected through fuel taxes. Translation: EV owners aren’t paying their fair share, just like your friend isn’t chipping in for those potato skins.
A provision in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s highway bill would change that. (Well, at least the part about EV owners. You will have to deal with your friend on your own.)
The BUILD America 250 Act, or HR8870, would implement a registration fee for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Specifically, electric vehicle owners would be charged $130 annually, while plug-in hybrid owners would pay a $35 registration fee.
“I would like to do the best we can to shore up the Highway Trust Fund,” Rep. Sam Graves, chairman of the House T&I Committee, said in March. “We haven’t seen any new money in it in 30 years. We would like to get money from EVs. They are getting a free ride. They are simply using the highway with no buy-in or user fees. I’m a small-government conservative, but I also believe in user fees when it comes to infrastructure. If you’re going to use the infrastructure, you need to pay for it.”
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association supports efforts to ensure that all road users pay their fair share.
That is among the reasons OOIDA is calling the BUILD America 250 Act the “most pro-trucker highway bill in recent memory.”
The highway bill’s pro-trucker provisions include:
More work to be done
Although the bill advanced out of committee and awaits a vote on the House floor, there’s still a ways to go before it can be signed into law.
The BUILD America 250 Act must advance on the House floor and in the Senate before it can be sent to the White House. There’s also a time clock as the current highway bill expires in September.
OOIDA is asking truck drivers to visit its Fighting For Truckers website and send a message to their lawmakers in support of the BUILD America 250 Act. LL
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