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Committee moves per-kilowatt-hour EV charging tax to Taxes after fiscal questions; MnDOT officials outline limited revenue capture
Summary
Senate File 2092 would impose a 5¢ per kilowatt-hour tax on public charging; the Transportation Committee moved the bill to Taxes without recommendation after MnDOT and fiscal staff explained most charging occurs at private residences and initial revenue capture would be limited.
St. Paul — The Transportation Committee moved Senate File 2092, a bill that would levy a 5¢ per kilowatt-hour tax on electric vehicle charging at public charging stations and direct revenues to the Highway User Tax Distribution Fund. Committee members and staff cautioned that most EV charging currently occurs at private residences, meaning the bill as written would initially capture limited revenue.
Sponsor Sen. Erin Johnson Stewart offered an author’s amendment to ensure revenue from the charging tax is deposited to the Highway User Tax Distribution Fund. The bill also excludes home charging from the tax.
Nut graf: MnDOT and fiscal staff told senators that an estimated 80 percent of EV charging occurs at private residences, and MnDOT’s back-of-envelope calculation suggested a small per‑driver taxable amount (roughly $47.85 per year under a set of assumptions) and an aggregate estimate of about $2.2 million annually — but staff warned that most existing public chargers and older charging events might be exempt under bill language, reducing the expected revenue.
Fiscal and administrative details
Department of Revenue staff noted the amendment resolves some fiscal note issues but flagged a recurring need for administration resources: the fiscal note identified an estimated 0.5 full-time equivalent position (FTE) — about $83,000 annually — to administer the new tax.
MnDOT staff explained the agency had programmed $68 million in federal NEVI funds for EV infrastructure and had obligated about $10.4 million to date; the agency said federal guidance changes have paused some programming but do not affect obligated contracts. MnDOT also summarized grants to install charging at interstate corridor locations and identified an estimated network need of approximately 83 additional non-interstate locations statewide.
Outcome
The committee moved SF 2092 as amended to the Taxes Committee without recommendation. Senators asked the Department of Revenue and MnDOT to provide fuller revenue and implementation analyses to the Taxes Committee.
Ending: The bill advances to the Taxes Committee for formal fiscal estimates and consideration of whether to broaden collection to capture more charging events (for example, by capturing commercial operator receipts or other mechanisms).
