The latest figures from the state Motor Vehicle Division show that the number of all-electric vehicles registered in the state ballooned from fewer than 35,000 in 2020 to more than 58,000 last year.
Howard Fischer,
Capitol Media Service
Gov. Katie Hobbs wants state lawmakers to enact new laws to ensure that the drivers of electric vehicles pay their fair share of road construction and maintenance.
But the governor said she doesn’t have anything specific in mind, at least not yet.
The willingness of Hobbs to take on the issue could provide some impetus for efforts that go back nearly a decade to equalize the levies paid by motorists whose fuel comes from a charger with those who pay the state every time they fill up with the 18-cent-a-gallon tax on gasoline.
That issue, however, has evaded solution amid arguments ranging from personal privacy to who should bear the costs as what people drive shifts.
Still, changing trends will put pressure on lawmakers to resolve it.
The latest figures from the state Motor Vehicle Division show that the number of all-electric vehicles registered in the state ballooned from fewer than 35,000 in 2020 to more than 58,000 last year. And none of those owners, who are using state roads, pays a penny toward the $538 million generated last year in gasoline taxes, much of that earmarked for road construction and maintenance.
“We are working on fair solutions,” the governor said when asked about the issue at a press event this past week touting “green energy” in Arizona.
“I recognize this is a huge issue as we look at depletion of highway funds and to make sure that everyone who uses the highways are paying their fair share,” she continued. “And electric vehicles are a part of that.”
Hobbs acknowledged, though, this isn’t a simple fix.
“Given the Legislature, that is challenging,” she said.
But this isn’t a partisan issue.
