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Download the full Legislative Memo here.
Key Findings
- Senate Bill 6586 would require the Washington State Transportation Commission and state Department of Licensing (DOL) to create a plan for implementing a mileage tax (or per-mile charge) on electric, hybrid, and state-owned fleets by December 1, 2021.
- The legislation seems premature given the artificial cost-drivers officials impose on transportation projects. These should be eliminated before imposing a new tax on the public.
- Owners of electric vehicles pay $150 each year as a gas tax offset. If lawmakers feel that is too low, they should consider raising it, rather than imposing a new and administratively costly tax to replace it.
- The state should not consider variable rates based on various “policy levers.” They should resist the urge to layer the charge with additional social objectives.
- Any per-mile charge should be protected under the state constitution’s 18th amendment, which protects money for highway purposes only.
- To increase public trust, lawmakers should reduce artificial cost-drivers in transportation, and take preliminary steps to ensure any per-mile charge directly benefits and protects the drivers who pay it.
Continue reading the full Legislative Memo here.