House Transportation committee drafts budget letter seeking $3 million to develop mileage-based user fee

A House Transportation Committee meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 26, agreed by straw poll to send a letter to the House Appropriations Committee requesting a one-time $3,000,000 general fund appropriation to develop a mileage-based user fee (MBUF). The committee recorded a 9-0-2 straw poll in favor of sending the letter as drafted (Version 3).

Why it matters: Committee members said the appropriation would fund start-up development for a MBUF that, upon implementation, the committee projects “is projected to generate an excess of $5,000,000 in annual revenues with that amount growing as the number of BEVs increases.” The committee described the request as a transition move intended to reduce reliance on general fund dollars for long-term transportation funding.

At the meeting, an unidentified…