State’s Proposed Gas Tax Bill Places Fees on Electric, Hybrid Car Owners
State lawmakers went into special session Wednesday to consider a proposed gas tax increase to fund road and bridge construction. The bill would impact all motorists — but some would pay significantly more than others.
Gov. Kay Ivey’s proposed bill would increase the state’s gas tax by 10 cents a gallon. But one part of the bill has gotten a lot of attention lately: drivers of electric and hybrid vehicles pay additional fees compared to regular vehicle owners. State Sen. Del Marsh supports the bill.
“What we’ve done is just basically say let’s bring electric vehicles and parallel them with what people are paying on gas-burning cars and that number of 75 and 200 are in line with that,” he says.
That’s $75 dollars in extra fees for hybrid owners. Drivers of electric cars will pay an extra $200. Marsh says the additional fees are fair.
Here’s the rationale: drivers of fuel-efficient cars buy less gas. So charging them more is a way to make it so that all drivers contribute to this infrastructure fund. It makes it so that all drivers have to pay to use the roadways. Critics see it as punitive toward hybrid and electric car owners. They say electric vehicles don’t put as much wear and tear on the roads because they tend to be lighter.
In addition to road and bridge projects, a portion of those state tax dollars would go toward more charging stations across the state.
Marsh says “once adequate infrastructure is met, the fee on that drops, but we want to create that infrastructure for electric vehicles.”
The fee would decrease once the gas tax hike is phased in over three years. Marsh says the state expects more electric vehicles on the roads in coming years.
As the special session continues, he says more changes are expected to be made to the draft bill.
If the bill passes, Alabama would join 20 other states that charge fees ranging from $50 to $200 on hybrid and electric vehicles, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Swiss Alpine bar fire claims 41st victim, an 18-year-old Swiss national
Swiss prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into the owners of Le Constellation bar in the ski resort of Crans-Montana, where a fire in the early hours of Jan. 1 killed dozens.
Sunday Puzzle: Rhyme Time
NPR's Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with WBUR listener Laurie Rose and Weekend Edition Puzzlemaster Will Shortz.
Alcaraz beats Djokovic to become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam
The 22-year-old Spaniard's win against 38-year-old rival Novak Djokovic at Sunday's Australian Open makes him the youngest male player to win all four major tournaments.
You already know the song — now, ‘The One About the Blackbird’ is also a picture book
In The One About the Blackbird, a young boy learns to play guitar from his grandfather. And there's one song in particular that they love…
At a clown school near Paris, failure is the lesson
For decades, students at the Ecole Philippe Gaulier have been paying to bomb onstage. The goal isn't laughs — it's learning how to take the humiliation and keep going.
In the world’s driest desert, Chile freezes its future to protect plants
Tucked away in a remote desert town, a hidden vault safeguards Chile's most precious natural treasures. From long-forgotten flowers to endangered crops.
