S-1773.1
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5444
State of Washington 67th Legislature 2021 Regular Session
By Senate Transportation (originally sponsored by Senators Saldaña,
Hobbs, Nguyen, and Nobles)
READ FIRST TIME 03/17/21.
1 AN ACT Relating to implementing a per mile charge on electric and
2 hybrid vehicles; amending RCW 46.17.323, 46.17.324, and 42.56.330;
3 adding a new section to chapter 46.17 RCW; adding a new section to
4 chapter 46.08 RCW; creating a new section; repealing RCW 46.17.323;
5 and providing an effective date.
6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
7 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that increasing the
8 rate of adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles is helping to reduce
9 harmful air pollution from exhaust emissions, including greenhouse
10 gas emissions, in the state. At the same time, the legislature also
11 finds that there is a need to ensure that the greater adoption of
12 electric and hybrid vehicles does not reduce funds to maintain and
13 improve transportation infrastructure and that there is a need for
14 fairness in how these funds are generated. The legislature also finds
15 that a road usage charge or per mile fee system appears to be a
16 viable method to ensure these goals are achieved. It is therefore the
17 legislature's intent to impose a per mile fee to mitigate the impact
18 of increased electric and hybrid vehicles on state roads and highways
19 and to allow further evaluation of the feasibility of transitioning
20 from a revenue collection system based on fuel taxes to a per mile
21 funding system.
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 1 The legislature further finds and declares that the per mile
2 funding system must at all times recognize and respect an
3 individual's interests in privacy, information use, and civil
4 liberties. Experience in states that collect road usage charges, as
5 well as the research and year-long test of road usage charging in
6 Washington, demonstrates that mileage-based charges can be
7 implemented in a way that ensures data security and protects the
8 privacy of vehicle owners. The legislature intends that the per mile
9 funding system authorized in this act be designed and implemented in
10 a manner that places privacy of the vehicle owner as a first
11 principle, especially with regard to location data. Detailed travel
12 locations or patterns must not be disclosed, and legal and technical
13 safeguards must protect personal information.
14 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 46.17
15 RCW to read as follows:
16 (1) By December 1, 2023, the department and the transportation
17 commission must collaborate to develop an implementation plan for the
18 voluntary early adoption program pursuant to subsection (3) of this
19 section and imposing a per mile fee on electric and hybrid vehicles
20 pursuant to subsection (2) of this section with the goal of creating
21 a more dynamic and equitable funding system that could potentially
22 incorporate additional policy priorities than the current
23 transportation funding system. This plan must incorporate the ongoing
24 work of the transportation commission in evaluating a road usage
25 charge, including coordinating with federal grant-funded research and
26 development to continue in parallel with these activities. The plan
27 must include, but is not limited to:
28 (a) Different mileage reporting methods;
29 (b) Recommended payment collection means and rates for achieving
30 cost efficiency, fairness, minimal administrative cost, payment
31 compliance, consumer choice, and preserving individual privacy;
32 (c) Adjustments or modifications to ensure that the existing
33 funding for local government support and transportation
34 infrastructure investments are maintained and not reduced as a result
35 of the fee reductions in this act;
36 (d) Options for differential or additional rates based on the
37 particular classifications of vehicles, to ensure vehicles are paying
38 for their proportional impact on road preservation and maintenance
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 1 costs, legislative environmental policies, or other policy levers
2 that the legislature may want to consider;
3 (e) Options for collaborating with other states or countries in
4 the development and administration of the per mile funding system;
5 (f) Evaluation and comparison of the benefits and costs of
6 allowing for payment plan options and annual payment;
7 (g) Any recommended statutory changes, including suggested
8 offsets or rebates to the per mile fees. These offsets or rebates
9 will not be utilized in the per mile funding system until approved by
10 the legislature;
11 (h) Specific recommendations to better align the system with
12 other vehicle-related charges and potentially establish the framework
13 for broader implementation of a per mile funding system, including
14 analysis of the preferred method for addressing eighteenth amendment
15 restriction considerations;
16 (i) A recommended implementation and governance structure, and
17 transition plan with the department as the designated lead agency to
18 operate and administer the per mile funding system;
19 (j) A recommendation on the best agency to be lead for public
20 outreach and education;
21 (k) Recommendations for augmenting vehicle owner privacy in light
22 of new and emerging mileage reporting methods or technologies, and
23 proposed rules to be adopted by the commission related to extend
24 privacy protections in a per mile funding system; and
25 (l) Detailed information on the recommended periodic review and
26 evaluation process to best ensure the per mile funding system is
27 achieving the policy and revenue goals established by the
28 legislature.
29 (2)(a) Beginning July 1, 2026, before accepting an application
30 for an initial annual vehicle registration or renewal for a vehicle
31 that both (i) uses at least one method of propulsion that is capable
32 of being reenergized by an external source of electricity and (ii) is
33 capable of traveling at least 30 miles using only battery power, the
34 department, county auditor or other agent, or subagent appointed by
35 the director must require the applicant to pay a per mile fee as
36 specified in this section. This fee is in addition to all other fees
37 and taxes required by law.
38 (b) The rate of the per mile fee is as follows:
39 (i) From July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029, two cents per mile
40 driven;
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 1 (ii) On July 1, 2029, and thereafter, two and one-half cents per
2 mile driven; and
3 (iii) The rates specified in (b)(i) and (ii) of this subsection
4 may be adjusted based on new information and changes in legislative
5 policy.
6 (3)(a) By July 1, 2025, the department, in consultation with the
7 transportation commission, must establish a voluntary early adoption
8 program that allows the registered owner of an electric or hybrid
9 vehicle that uses at least one method of propulsion that is capable
10 of being reenergized by an external source of electricity and is
11 capable of traveling at least 30 miles using only battery power to
12 start paying a per mile fee earlier than the mandatory participation
13 date of July 1, 2026.
14 (b) Except as otherwise specified in this subsection (3),
15 participants in the voluntary early adoption program must pay two
16 cents per mile driven in addition to all other fees and taxes
17 required by law.
18 (c) For active participants in the voluntary early adoption
19 program, the department must waive payment of the electric vehicle
20 registration renewal fees as specified in RCW 46.17.323 and the
21 transportation electrification fee as specified in RCW 46.17.324(1).
22 (d) Besides the vehicles specified in (a) of this subsection, the
23 voluntary early adoption program must include participation of at
24 least five hundred electric, hybrid, and internal combustion state-
25 owned passenger or light duty truck fleet vehicles. These vehicles
26 are not subject to the per mile fee specified in (b) of this
27 subsection. The department, in consultation with the transportation
28 commission, shall establish the types of state fleet vehicles for
29 participation to further test the viability of a per mile fee on the
30 full range of vehicles that may be subject to a per mile fee in
31 future years. The voluntary early adoption program as it specifically
32 relates to state-owned fleet vehicles may be initiated as early as
33 December 1, 2024, based on the technical capability of the department
34 to implement the program for these vehicles.
35 (e) By July 1, 2024, after consultation with the transportation
36 commission on lessons learned from Washington's road usage charge
37 pilot and research, the department must adopt rules to implement the
38 voluntary early adoption program specified in this subsection (3),
39 which must include procedures for recoupment of any waived fees if
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1 the participant is not actively participating in the voluntary early
2 adoption program.
3 (4) This section only applies to a vehicle that is designed to
4 have the capability to drive at a speed of more than 35 miles per
5 hour and has a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less.
6 (5) Proceeds from the per mile fee imposed under this section
7 must be used for preservation and maintenance and must be deposited
8 in the motor vehicle fund created in RCW 46.68.070.
9 Sec. 3. RCW 46.17.323 and 2015 3rd sp.s. c 44 s 203 are each
10 amended to read as follows:
11 (1) Before accepting an application for an annual vehicle
12 registration renewal for a vehicle that both (a) uses at least one
13 method of propulsion that is capable of being reenergized by an
14 external source of electricity and (b) is capable of traveling at
15 least thirty miles using only battery power, the department, county
16 auditor or other agent, or subagent appointed by the director must
17 require the applicant to pay a one hundred dollar fee in addition to
18 any other fees and taxes required by law. The one hundred dollar fee
19 is due only at the time of annual registration renewal.
20 (2) This section only applies to a vehicle that is designed to
21 have the capability to drive at a speed of more than thirty-five
22 miles per hour.
23 (3)(a) The fee under this section is imposed to provide funds to
24 mitigate the impact of vehicles on state roads and highways and for
25 the purpose of evaluating the feasibility of transitioning from a
26 revenue collection system based on fuel taxes to a road user
27 assessment system, and is separate and distinct from other vehicle
28 license fees. Proceeds from the fee must be used for highway
29 purposes, and must be deposited in the motor vehicle fund created in
30 RCW 46.68.070, subject to (b) of this subsection.
31 (b) If in any year the amount of proceeds from the fee collected
32 under this section exceeds one million dollars, the excess amount
33 over one million dollars must be deposited as follows:
34 (i) Seventy percent to the motor vehicle fund created in RCW
35 46.68.070;
36 (ii) Fifteen percent to the transportation improvement account
37 created in RCW 47.26.084; and
38 (iii) Fifteen percent to the rural arterial trust account created
39 in RCW 36.79.020.
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 1 (4)(a) In addition to the fee established in subsection (1) of
2 this section, before accepting an application for an annual vehicle
3 registration renewal for a vehicle that both (i) uses at least one
4 method of propulsion that is capable of being reenergized by an
5 external source of electricity and (ii) is capable of traveling at
6 least thirty miles using only battery power, the department, county
7 auditor or other agent, or subagent appointed by the director must
8 require the applicant to pay a fifty dollar fee.
9 (b) The fee required under (a) of this subsection must be
10 distributed as follows:
11 (i) The first one million dollars raised by the fee must be
12 deposited into the multimodal transportation account created in RCW
13 47.66.070; and
14 (ii) Any remaining amounts must be deposited into the motor
15 vehicle fund created in RCW 46.68.070.
16 (5) This section applies to annual vehicle registration renewals
17 until the effective date of enacted legislation that imposes a
18 vehicle miles traveled fee or tax. However, for purposes of this
19 subsection, the establishment of the voluntary early adoption program
20 described in section 2(3) of this act does not constitute legislation
21 that imposes a vehicle miles traveled fee or tax.
22 (6) Beginning July 1, 2025, participants in the voluntary early
23 adoption program described in section 2(3) of this act are exempt
24 from the fees specified in this section.
25 Sec. 4. RCW 46.17.324 and 2019 c 287 s 23 are each amended to
26 read as follows:
27 To realize the environmental benefits of electrification of the
28 transportation system it is necessary to support the adoption of
29 electric vehicles and other electric technology in the state by
30 incentivizing the purchase of these vehicles, building out the
31 charging infrastructure, developing greener transit options, and
32 supporting clean alternative fuel infrastructure. Therefore, it is
33 the intent of the legislature to support these activities through the
34 imposition of new transportation electrification fees in this
35 section.
36 (1) ((A)) Until July 1, 2026, a vehicle that both (a) uses at
37 least one method of propulsion that is capable of being reenergized
38 by an external source of electricity and (b) is capable of traveling
39 at least thirty miles using only battery power, is subject to an
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 1 annual seventy-five dollar transportation electrification fee to be
2 collected by the department, county auditor, or other agent or
3 subagent appointed by the director, in addition to any other fees and
4 taxes required by law. For administrative efficiencies, the
5 transportation electrification fee must be collected at the same time
6 as vehicle registration renewals and may only be collected for
7 vehicles that are renewing an annual vehicle registration.
8 (2) Beginning October 1, 2019, and until July 1, 2026, in lieu of
9 the fee in subsection (1) of this section for a hybrid or alternative
10 fuel vehicle that is not required to pay the fees established in RCW
11 46.17.323 (1) and (4), the department, county auditor, or other agent
12 or subagent appointed by the director must require that the applicant
13 for the annual vehicle registration renewal of such hybrid or
14 alternative fuel vehicle pay a seventy-five dollar hybrid vehicle
15 transportation electrification fee, in addition to any other fees and
16 taxes required by law. However, the fee imposed under this subsection
17 does not apply to applicants participating in the voluntary early
18 adoption program described in section 2(3) of this act.
19 (3) Beginning July 1, 2026, the department, county auditor, or
20 other agent or subagent appointed by the director must require that
21 an applicant for the annual vehicle registration renewal for vehicles
22 specified in this subsection to pay a $75 hybrid vehicle
23 transportation electrification fee, in addition to any other fees and
24 taxes required by law. This fee applies to:
25 (a) An electric or hybrid vehicle that uses at least one method
26 of propulsion that is capable of being reenergized by an external
27 source of electricity, but is not capable of traveling at least 30
28 miles using only battery power; or
29 (b) A hybrid electric and gasoline vehicle that is not a plug-in
30 hybrid.
31 (4) The fees required under this section must be deposited in the
32 electric vehicle account created in RCW 82.44.200, until July 1,
33 2025, when the fee must be deposited in the motor vehicle account.
34 (((4))) (5) This section only applies to a vehicle that is
35 designed to have the capability to drive at a speed of more than
36 thirty-five miles per hour.
37 (6) Beginning July 1, 2025, participants in the voluntary early
38 adoption program described in section 2(3) of this act are exempt
39 from the fees specified in subsection (1) of this section.
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 1 NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 46.08
2 RCW to read as follows:
3 (1) The per mile system established to collect the per mile fee
4 under section 2 of this act may not involve the collection of any
5 personally identifying information beyond what is necessary to
6 properly calculate, report, and collect the per mile fee, unless the
7 vehicle owner provides his or her express written consent for the
8 collection of additional information.
9 (2) Per mile reporting methods may record or report general
10 location data under the following circumstances: (a) the vehicle
11 owner chooses that specific reporting method; (b) proper disclosure
12 of the reporting method was made pursuan