In response to a recent congressional proposal to impose the first-ever annual federal fees on electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, Ned Vasquez, chair of Sierra Club Mt. Baker Group, penned an op-ed published in the Cascadia Daily News arguing that the measure is not only poorly timed, but also flawed public policy.
As an electric vehicle owner and Sierra Club leader, I am concerned by the latest attempts to limit affordable, clean transportation options.
Across the country, Americans are grappling with runaway gas prices because of President Trump’s reckless decision to enter a harmful, destructive war while his administration unleashes an all-out attack on clean energy. The national average price for a gallon of gas has climbed to $4.50 and, in Washington state, it’s approaching $6.
For working families already crushed by high inflation, these increased fuel costs are yet another source of real anxiety. It is no wonder that nearly 20% of new vehicle purchases in Washington are now EVs or plug-in hybrids. These are not ideological decisions. Drivers are simply doing the math.
All of this makes the timing of a congressional proposal creating a new $130 annual federal fee on EVs and a $35 fee on plug-in hybrid vehicles hard to digest.
Throughout the U.S., states are weighing gas tax holidays to temporarily ease costs at the pump. Congress, meanwhile, is doing the opposite: proposing a brand-new tax on the very vehicles families are turning to for relief. Why are Republicans in Congress seeking to penalize American drivers instead of offering us the option to choose a car that will save money in the long term?
This proposal is harmful to our health and wallets and seems designed to punish EV and hybrid drivers rather than fund our roads and bridges. EV drivers are not free riders. In Washington, EV owners already pay $150 in annual registration fees plus a $75 transportation electrification fee that supports the state’s road maintenance and infrastructure in lieu of the state’s gas tax. If this federal proposal passes, drivers in our state would need to pay the new federal fee in addition to their current state fees.
Other states have similar fees and, in some cases, they already exceed the amount paid by drivers of gas-powered vehicles. According to Atlas Public Policy, 37 states collect annual EV fees ranging from $50 to $290 a year. Add a $130 federal tax on top, and EV drivers could end up paying far more per year than gas drivers do.
Working-class and middle-class households are turning to clean vehicles to lower costs for their families. They are being forced to examine every dollar they spend because of the affordability crisis we currently face. We should not penalize their choice to drive a car that frees them from the gas price roller coaster.
If Congress wants to have a serious discussion about how to best fund our roads and bridges, there are better, more sensible solutions. A flat annual fee that hits all EV and hybrid drivers, without any consideration of how much they drive, is not good policy. To protect American pocketbooks, Congress must reject it.
Everyone deserves affordable transportation and a healthy environment. Everyone deserves the ability to choose their modes of transportation without unreasonable penalties being imposed on them for political reasons. Representatives in Washington state should reconsider the inclusion of a new fee on hybrid and electric vehicles in the forthcoming surface transportation reauthorization bill.