A report from the Transportation Investment Advocacy Center reveals that 37 states have introduced nearly 200 bills with the goal of boosting transportation investment at the beginning of 2019, outpacing 2018’s output and emphasizing how critical the issue has become.
Responding to those issues, according to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), includes a variety of methods, but most popular by far are motor fuel taxes. Of the 37 states considering investment, 21 are eying increases to one or more types of motor fuel tax for generation of funds. Breaking that down still further, 10 of those want to see alterations or variable rate taxes based on factors like the Consumer Price Index, the average price of motor fuel and others.
On the other end of the spectrum, 16 states are considering electric vehicle fees, in an effort to tax new vehicles unaffected by previous measures of road maintenance support. It would, they say, keep those owners paying for the wear and tear they contribute to the roads. Of those 16 states, 10 want an additional registration fee for hybrid vehicles as well.
A smaller portion of states (eight) want more unique solutions, like mileage-based user fee studies or pilot programs. Another four desire the more traditional tolling solutions to the maintenance issue.
Of the hundreds of bills introduced nationwide, however, only 19 measures have advanced beyond a single legislative chamber and only one has actually made it into law.