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Committee negotiates higher registration fees for hybrids and electric trucks; negotiations continue on plug-in hybrid fee
Summary
Members debated increases to fees for plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles, including higher fees for electric trucks and tractors; negotiators discussed raising the plug-in-hybrid fee from $50 to between $60 and $85 and asked staff for fiscal estimates.
Committee negotiators discussed House Bill 2121, which would change registration fees for plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles and add fees for electric trucks and truck tractors.
As the House left it, plug-in hybrid fees were $100 and all-electric fees were $165. The Senate had suggested different numbers and inserted an $85 fee for a category described in discussion as “regular electric hybrids” (vehicles with smaller batteries and a starter motor). Committee discussion focused on finding compromise fees that preserve highway funding as vehicles become more fuel-efficient.
Members emphasized that improved fuel efficiency and the growing number of hybrids/electric vehicles erode fuel-tax revenue and that registration fees are one tool to offset that. The committee explored several fee-level options; one member suggested $65 for regular electric hybrids as a compromise. Staff reported that no updated fiscal note from the Department of Revenue was available; legislative research staff Jill Shelley estimated that increasing the hybrid fee by $15 for roughly 45,000 hybrid-electric vehicles would raise about $677,000 in revenue, and she said there were about 3,148 fully electric vehicles counted in the earlier fiscal data.
Negotiators also noted fee proposals for trucks and truck tractors: plug-in hybrid truck/tractor fees moving from $40 to $125 and all-electric truck fees to $200. Members discussed concerns from automotive manufacturers and testimony the committee received when setting the numbers. No final numeric agreement was recorded; members agreed to continue negotiations with the goal of finding a level that would pass both chambers and not imperil other parts of the vehicle-fee package.
Ending: Committee members asked staff to refine fiscal numbers, preserve their ability to save a Senate bill shell for the Hunter Nation plate, and continue negotiations with the aim of finalizing fee numbers before the next floor session.
