Given declining revenues from gasoline and diesel fuel taxes and the need for new ways of funding road infrastructure, state and federal policymakers are considering or have enacted annual registration fees for plug-in vehicles. In a paper to be published in the August issue of Energy Policy, SPEA researchers say that approach is misguided.
![Jerome Dumortier](http://blogs.iu.edu/speaindy/files/2016/06/Dumortier-J-2-11i0oec-199x300.jpg)
According to the paper, the registration fees already adopted by at least eight states reflect concerns about how the growing number of electric vehicles may affect road infrastructure funding. Electric vehicles do not contribute through fuel taxes to road construction and maintenance.
Those concerns are reflected by a Washington state legislator who is quoted as saying, “electric cars will be driving on the highway right along with all the other cars … we believe they should be paying their fair share.” (more…)