Assemblymembers David Chiu (D-San Francisco) and Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) and Senators Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) and Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) are co-authoring the legislation. SB 339 is sponsored by Transportation California and supported by the California Transportation Commission. A road charge program would allow for funding to be based on how much a person is using the road, rather than how much gas they purchase, more equitably distributing the costs of road and transportation maintenance. This allows those with the financial means to drive an efficient car - thus using less gas - to pay less overall to fund the roads they’re driving on. Fuel efficient vehicles, hybrids, and electric vehicles on average cost more than less efficient vehicles. The current tax structure also causes an inequitable burden that has an outsized impact on low-income communities. While SB 1 (Beall, 2017) took positive steps to address inflation issues, the gas tax is not a viable long-term solution: revenue from the tax is based on fuel consumption, and as critically important climate-friendly policies discouraging fuel consumption continue to be implemented, gas tax revenue will go down. To generate consistent revenue for long-term transportation funding, California must both deal with inflation and find an alternative to a “pay-at-the-pump” model, which relies on fuel inefficiency to generate funding. This extension is a crucial step and will help better equip the state with the necessary information regarding the potential for a road charge system to replace the gas tax to fund transportation infrastructure and maintenance.
The VMT fee will be paid by voluntary participants, and in return they will receive a credit at the end of the program that covers what they would have paid in gas taxes during the duration of their participation. Unlike prior forms of the program which used mock invoices, SB 339 includes the actual collection of this road charge fee. Rather than pay a fee at the pump when purchasing gasoline, a road charge system determines a driver’s VMT with an in-vehicle device, regular reporting of the odometer, or through various other methods.
VMT TAX IN INFRASTRUCTURE BILL DRIVERS
The Gas Tax Alternative Pilot would expand the current California Road Charge Pilot to further explore a “user pays” system that requires drivers pay for their vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in order to fund road and highway infrastructure and maintenance. Right now, California’s road maintenance and transportation funding comes primarily from the gas tax, which must be constantly adjusted and raised due to inflation and increasing car fuel efficiency. With many drivers – particularly wealthier drivers – switching to electric vehicles, and with Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent executive order banning the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035, the road charge pilot program offers an alternative option for transportation and road funding. The pilot program will allow state agencies to evaluate and refine the approach for future consideration of broader application. Participation in the pilot program is entirely voluntary - no one will be forced to participate. The California Road Charge Pilot Program has existed since 2015 SB 339 would extend the program to 2027 and would include an actual fee collection program (with participants reimbursed with the amount they would’ve paid in gas taxes over that period). Moreover, road charges are more equitable than gas taxes because wealthier people are more likely to be able to afford low and zero emission vehicles, thus avoiding gas taxes while lower income people continue to pay.
Road usage charges can replace gas taxes and ensure we can continue to fund our roads. With the state’s transition to more fuel efficient vehicles - and ultimately away from carbon-fueled vehicles entirely - gas tax revenue will decline and eventually end. Gas taxes fund California’s roads, highway system, and public transportation systems. This pilot program, which allows California to study a road user charge based on vehicle miles traveled (VMT) instead of relying on gas taxes, is a critical strategy as the state transitions away from fossil fuels. SACRAMENTO - Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco)’s legislation Senate Bill 339, the Gas Tax Alternative Pilot, passed the Senate on concurrence and will now head to the Governor’s desk for final approval.