SB5444 – Creates a per mile charge on electric and hybrid vehicles, replacing the current special fees; extends the $75 transportation electrification fee to cover all plug-ins.
Prime Sponsor – Senator Saldaña (D; 37th District; Seattle) (Co-sponsors Hobbs, Nguyen and Nobles – Ds)
Current status – Referred to the Committee on Transportation; had a hearing on February 18th. Amended and passed out of committee March 16th. Referred to Rules. Dead.
Next step would be – Action by the Rules Committee.
Legislative tracking page for the bill.

Comments –
Senator Fortunato’s SJR8207 would amend the Constitution to require any revenue from road usage charges of vehicle miles traveled fees to be spent for highway purposes.

Summary –
Senate Transportation amendment –
This shifts the implementation dates back a year and makes some other minor changes which are summarized by staff at the beginning of it.

Original bill –
The bill requires the Department of Licensing and the Transportation Commission to develop a plan for imposing a per mile charge on electric and hybrid vehicles in place of the current special fees on them. (Owners of plug-in vehicles that can go at least 30 miles on the battery are currently charged an extra $150 a year in place of the gas tax, and they, hybrid, and other alternative fuel vehicle owners are charged another $75 a year to support developing charging infrastructure, green transit, and other clean alternative fuel infrastructure.) The new system would begin July 1 2026, and collect an annual fee for vehicles that can go over 30 miles on the battery of $0.02/mile for three years, increasing to $0.025/mile after that. It would continue the annual $75 fee and expand that to apply to plug-ins with less battery range as well. (Thus, if you drove 10,000 miles a year in an all electric vehicle, you’d pay $275/year, and then $325.) By July 1, 2025 at the latest, owners of vehicles that can go over 30 miles on the battery would be able to choose to switch to the new system early, and would be exempted from the $75 fee (an ongoing exemption according to Plug-In America, though I don’t think that’s clear; it depends on whether you read “actively participate in the program” as referring to the pilot program or the road use charge program). At least 500 varied State light vehicles would be required to participate in it (starting as early as July 2024 if that were feasible), but without paying the fees.

The plan has to take account of previous State research on replacing the gas tax with a road usage charge, and must include:
1. Different mileage reporting methods;
2. Recommended payment collection means and rates for achieving cost efficiency, fairness, minimal administrative cost, payment compliance, consumer choice, and for preserving individual privacy;
3. Options for collaborating with other states or countries in developing and administering the per mile funding system;
4. Evaluation and comparison of the benefits and costs of allowing payment plan options and annual payment;
5. Any recommended statutory changes, including suggested offsets or rebates to the per mile fees that might be approved by the Legislature;
6. Specific recommendations to better align the system with other vehicle-related charges and potentially establish the framework for broader implementation of a per mile funding system, including analysis of the preferred method for addressing potential 18th Amendment restrictions;
(g) A recommended implementation and governance structure, and a transition plan with the Department as the agency operating and administering the funding system;
(h) A recommendation on the best agency to be lead public outreach and education;
(i) Recommendations for augmenting vehicle owner privacy in light of new and emerging mileage reporting methods or technologies, and proposed rules to be adopted by the Commission to protect privacy in the system; and
(j) Detailed information on a recommended periodic review and evaluation process to ensure the system is achieving the policy and revenue goals established by the Legislature.

The bill exempts any personally identifying information of persons reporting mileage or vehicle location information as part of a complying with a mileage tax from disclosure, except to law enforcement agencies in accordance with a court order. The bill prohibits collecting any  personally identifying information beyond what’s necessary to calculate, report, and collect the per mile fee, unless the vehicle owner provides written consent for collecting more. Reporting is allowed to collect general location data if an owner chooses that specific reporting method; proper disclosure of the method was made according to rules adopted by the Transportation Commission; and the owner specifically consents to its reporting. The bill prohibits reporting specific location data to the Department or any subdivision of the state, including travel patterns, origins, destinations, waypoint locations, or times of travel, unless a vehicle owner specifically consents to the recording or reporting. The bill establishes an affirmative public duty to ensure that per mile information is protected with reasonable operational, administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to ensure its confidentiality and integrity; to implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices to protect the information from unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure; and to implement and maintain a usage and privacy policy to ensure that the collection of information respects  individuals’ privacy and civil liberties. Any system data retained longer than needed to ensure proper mileage account payment has to have all personally identifying information removed and may only be used for public purposes.