Minn. committee hears House File 189 to raise EV registration fee; amendment fails on 7-8 roll call

A Minnesota House committee heard testimony on House File 189, a bill that would raise annual electric vehicle registration fees to roughly $137 to align EV contributions with gasoline-powered vehicles, Representative Zalesnikar told committee members.

The bill, Zalesnikar said, is “really a parity bill to the existing gas tax” and seeks to replace some highway and bridge revenue lost as motorists switch to electric vehicles. Zalesnikar said Minnesota currently has 53,356 electric vehicles registered and that his calculation — using an average Minnesotan driving distance of 13,957 miles — produced a proposed fee of $137 per year. “I didn’t round up. I did exact straight math by the data,” he said.

Why it matters: The state’s roads and bridges have been funded largely by fuel taxes; as the vehicle fleet electrifies, those per-gallon revenues decline. Sponsors and supporters say a higher EV registration fee would maintain a user-fee link to road funding. Opponents say EV drivers already contribute through higher sales taxes and tab (licensing) fees and that raising registration fees would discourage adoption and not fix underlying roadway funding gaps.

Representative Kraft offered an A1 amendment that she…