(The Center Square) – After years of discussion around the possibility of a road usage charge system to replace the state gas tax as a primary source of transportation funding, a high-ranking Washington House lawmaker has proposed an RUC that would rely on an honor system for drivers reporting their mileage.
House Bill 1921 sponsored by House Transportation Chair Jake Fey, D-Tacoma, would create an RUC system that, initially, would be voluntary and have vehicle owners pay their annual fee while renewing their vehicle registration tabs. The program would become mandatory by 2029, but only for electric and hybrid vehicles; other types of vehicles would be phased in over the next several years based on their fuel efficiency.
By 2035, all vehicles with a fuel efficiency of 20 miles per gallon or more would have to participate in the program.
The RUC rate would start at 2.6 cents per mile, which would be automatically adjusted in conjunction with the state gas tax rate.
At a Tuesday news conference, Fey said that it has been a challenge “to not only deal with economic growth in the state of Washington, but also just to keep up with the needed maintenance and preservation that makes the transportation system work for citizens that live here and that visit the state of Washington.”
Studied by the state for 12 years, an RUC is considered by proponents to be the best replacement for the state gas tax, which is expected to decline by 45% by 2040 due to a combination of electric and hybrid vehicles as well as increased fuel efficiency by gasoline-powered vehicles. Additionally, a state law bans registering new gas-powered vehicles starting in 2035.
Fey’s bill tackles two of the most controversial aspects of an RUC: how mileage is tracked and what can be done with the revenue generated. Under his proposal, drivers would self-report their odometer readings, whereas previous pilot programs contemplated the use of either a smartphone app or GPS-tracker as one option for calculating miles driven on public roads within the state. Though more precise, the tracking-options has drawn concerns from some over data security and privacy, as well as the additional staff needed to oversee implementation.
HB 1921 also seeks to reassure skeptics regarding the use of revenue by requiring it be used only for state highway projects, a protection placed on state gas tax revenue via a constitutional amendment.
However, the program’s reliance on the honor system drew skepticism from media at the press conference. Fey replied that one way to handle dishonest reporting is examining the odometer at the time of the vehicle sale.
“If someone has been honestly reporting their miles at the time of the sale, then there wouldn’t be a reconciliation on, potentially, how much is owed, or if, on this case, owed to the state for the road usage charge,” he said.
Fey also warned that “absent something like this, we’re in a spiral downwards on the base form of revenues for this state transportation system.”
HB 1921 is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Transportation Committee on Feb. 13. A companion bill, Senate Bill 5726, has been introduced in the other chamber and referred to the Transportation Committee, but is not scheduled for a public hearing.