Committee hears cleanup bill to clarify 3¢ per-kilowatt charge at public EV chargers

Senate Bill 228, introduced by Sen. Denley Logie, would revise statutory language governing public electric‑vehicle (EV) charging stations and the 3¢ per‑kilowatt‑hour charge that is deposited into Montana’s gas tax fund.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Denley Logie, said the measure is a cleanup of language adopted in prior sessions to ensure metering and billing at public charging stations are separated from other uses (such as advertising meters) so only energy used for vehicle charging is taxed. “This bill is kind of a clean up on that,” Logie said during opening remarks, noting stakeholder meetings during the interim to resolve drafting issues.

The measure drew broad stakeholder support for the technical fixes but disagreement over a Senate amendment that removed a 30% reduction in a separate EV registration fee scheduled for 2028. Larry Flynn, deputy director of the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT), told the committee the bill is “not a revisitation of the policy issue” of how EVs are taxed but rather a cleanup to aid implementation. Flynn said the registration‑fee reduction was removed because the anticipated expansion of a public charging network did not occur and related federal funds were not available.

Proponents said the interim stakeholder process produced workable clarifications. Doug Hardy of the Montana Electric Cooperative Association said the group at the table “focused on making it work and filling in the holes.” Amanda Bridal (spelled F R I C K L E), representing the Montana AFL‑CIO Federation of Unions, and Kevin Wade of the Montana Contractors Association and Chamber of Commerce also testified in favor of the bill’s technical fixes.

Opponents supported the cleanup language but urged restoring the removed 2028 fee reduction amendment. Nick Fitzmaurice, energy transition engineer with the Montana Environmental Information Center, said the amendment stripped a scheduled 30% reduction that had been part of the stakeholder agreement. “At a minimum, this is something that should be visited in 2 years when we actually have a better idea of what the actual situation is,” Fitzmaurice said. Makena (Makena) Sellers of the Montana Renewable Energy Association and EV owner Jesse Therien also testified that current EV owners face higher per‑mile costs under the combined registration and charging structure and urged caution before removing the scheduled step‑down.

Committee members pressed proponents and agency witnesses on implementation details and data. Kendra Smith, MDT transportation funding and finance supervisor, provided registration and vehicle counts for 2024: 4,600 light‑duty EVs and 2,500 plug‑in hybrids. Flynn said MDT collected roughly $760,000 from EV registration fees in 2024 and about $47,000 from the kilowatt‑hour charge on public charging stations, and estimated there are about 30 public charging locations statewide. Flynn also said Montana did not deploy federal highway funding for a state charging network after the federal allocation was pulled, leaving most public chargers as private investments.

Supporters and opponents agreed on the need for a workable statutory definition and clear metering requirements; they disagreed about whether the 2028 registration fee reduction should remain. Some proponents argued that without the federal gas tax revenues that apply to fuel‑purchasing motorists, EVs do not contribute the same federal dollars to road funds and that the current combined structure helps capture road use from out‑of‑state EVs that charge at Montana public stations.

The committee closed the hearing on SB 228 after questions and discussion; no amendments or votes were recorded in the transcript.

This hearing provided technical and policy evidence the committee can use if the bill is amended or moved forward in committee action.