States weigh motor-fuel indexing, EV fees and road‑usage charges to shore up transportation funds

Carolyn Simmons, identified in the hearing as a transportation funding researcher, outlined how states are adjusting taxes and fees to keep pace with rising fuel efficiency, higher construction costs and changing driving patterns.

Simmons told the Committee on Transportation that “the worst case scenario for us is that we do all of this research and then it just dies on our website,” and said she was presenting options other states are using to maintain transportation revenue. She said the biggest revenue challenge is increasing fuel efficiency across the passenger vehicle fleet: average real‑world fuel economy for cars rose from about 29 mpg in 2017 to roughly 35 mpg in 2023, reducing per‑vehicle gasoline tax receipts.

Why it matters: Kansas’s state motor‑fuel tax has remained a flat cents‑per‑gallon rate since February 2003, Simmons noted, and that flat amount buys less than it did in 2003. At the same time, highway construction costs have risen, putting pressure on maintenance and capital budgets.

Simmons summarized state responses now in use or…