Electric vehicle owners in Pennsylvania soon could be zapped with an annual fee
HARRISBURG — Electric vehicle owners in Pennsylvania could be required to pay an annual fee — potentially the highest in the nation — for the privilege of driving an eco-friendly car or truck.
The House Transportation Committee last week approved the Senate-passed bill that would set the fee at $290 a year starting next year, but the amount of the fee continues to be a subject of ongoing negotiations.
Committee Chairman Ed Neilson, D-Philadelphia, said he hopes those discussions between House and Senate leaders could result in an agreement on an electric vehicle fee program before the end of the week when the General Assembly breaks for the holidays.
Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Wayne Langerholc, R-Cambria County, also wants to see the legislation reach Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk provided he said it is the “right product.” But he too is anxious to get a law on the books.
“I’ve been consistent that this is money that we’re leaving on the table every day that we fail to act,” Mr. Langerholc said.
At $290 a year, Pennsylvania would have the highest electric vehicle registration fee in the nation.
Sen. Greg Rothman, R-Cumberland County, who authored the bill, proposed that amount as it is roughly what the state Department of Transportation estimates owners of gas-powered passenger vehicles pay each year in the state’s gas tax at its current rate of 61 cents per gallon.
Revenue from the gas tax goes into the Motor License Fund to pay for highway infrastructure projects and support state police operations. That also is where revenue from the proposed electric vehicle fee would be deposited.
“This is not the right bill,” Mr. Neilson said, referring to the current version. “We want to make sure this legislation is done fairly. Two hundred ninety is way too high.”
But Mr. Langerholc stands behind setting the yearly fee at $290.
He said the amount needs to be comparable to what gasoline-powered vehicle owners pay to make it fair and generate more than a minuscule amount of revenue. Last spring, he estimated that fee would generate upward of $20 million.
“I support my colleague Senator Rothman’s bill,” Mr. Langerholc said. “It’s a good product. It’s a result of compromise and negotiation.”
The legislation would apply to all non-commercial passenger battery electric vehicles, but not hybrid vehicles. Mr. Neilson was going to offer amendments to the bill to have it apply to hybrids but withdrew them to see whether a forthcoming compromise with the Senate addresses that.
Mr. Neilson also would like to see the bill include an automatic inflationary adjustment to the fee as well as a provision to phase in the fee over a period of three to five years rather than all at once “so there’s no sticker shock,” he said.
Another area of disagreement is when the fee would take effect in 2024 or 2025.