BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana owners of electric or hybrid vehicles would be charged an annual state road usage fee under legislation that cleared the House Transportation Committee on Monday.
The Advertiser reports that the bill's supporters argued that the bill is needed because revenue to pay for upkeep and improvement of existing roads and bridges comes from the state's 20-cents-per-gallon gasoline tax. Owners of electric vehicles avoid those taxes, and hybrid drivers avoid part of them.
Baton Rouge Republican Rep. Barbara Freiberg’s bill would charge EV owners $110 annually. Hybrid owners would pay $60 annually through the state income tax form, which would rely on voluntary compliance.
The measure now heads to the full House. Because it imposes a new fee, it will need a two-thirds vote in each chamber — 70 votes in the House and 26 in the Senate — to become law.
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