INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana’s roads need work, and Indiana Republicans want electric cars to help pay for it.
In the Indiana House Republicans legislative plan released on Wednesday, one representative proposed a $150 annual fee for electric vehicles registered in Indiana.
Rep. Ed Soliday (R-Valparaiso) filed the bill. It would also implement a $15 annual fee on all vehicles registered in Indiana. If you owned an electric vehicle, you'd pay a total fee of $165 per year.
Hybrids would not be categorized as an electric vehicle.
The bill would also impose an increase of the gas tax by 10 cents per gallon to “restore buying power lost to inflation.”
Soliday said the average driver would pay about $4 more per month, or $48 per year.
If this bill passes, average Hoosiers driving gasoline cars will pay about $63 more per year. People who drive electric cars will pay $213 more per year.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 10 states impose fees on electric vehicles:
- Wyoming
- Colorado
- Virginia
- Nebraska
- Missouri
- Washington
- North Carolina
- Idaho
- Georgia
- Michigan
House Republicans say the fee would bring in an estimated $2 million per year.
The money would go to the Community Crossings Matching Grant Fund, which awards communities around the state money for road projects.
The communities submit proposals to the state, which then makes decisions on where to allocate the money. If a project is approved, 50 percent of the money comes from the state. The local governments must provide the other 50 percent.
Last year, Indiana received $1 million from the fund, the maximum available.
