Congress is preparing to impose a new $130 annual fee on owners of electric vehicles as part of a major highway funding bill.
The proposal is included in the BUILD America 250 Act, a five-year, $580 billion surface transportation package. House lawmakers released details of the plan on Monday.
The measure seeks to fix a growing shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund, which depends on federal gas and diesel taxes for revenue.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves, a Missouri Republican, supports the fee. “The BUILD America 250 Act ensures that electric vehicle owners begin paying their fair share for the use of our roads,” Graves said in a statement.
The bill would require states to collect the fee from EV owners and send the money to the federal government for highway and bridge projects.
It also sets penalties for states that fail to collect it. Lawmakers from both parties want to pass the full bill before the current transportation law expires on September 30.
The Proposed Fee
Electric vehicle owners would pay $130 per year under the plan. Owners of plug-in hybrid vehicles would pay $35 per year. The fees would begin after the bill becomes law. Starting in 2029, the amounts would rise by $5 every two years until they reach $150 for electric vehicles and $50 for plug-in hybrids.
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The Highway Trust Fund has faced repeated shortfalls. Gas tax revenue has not kept pace with infrastructure needs because vehicles have become more fuel-efficient, and electric vehicle sales have grown.
Electric vehicles pay no federal gas tax. The federal gas tax rate has not increased in more than 30 years.
The new fee would be collected at the state level during vehicle registration and transferred to Washington. This approach follows similar fees already in place in several states.
The proposal comes as President Trump serves as president. His administration has focused on infrastructure and energy policy, but the highway bill is moving through Congress on a mostly bipartisan basis in the transportation committees.
Americans’ Reactions
Supporters say the fee brings fairness to the system. They note that electric vehicle owners use roads and bridges but have not contributed through fuel taxes. Ranking Member Rick Larsen, a Democrat from Washington on the House committee, has backed similar EV fees in past discussions.
Critics disagree. Groups that support electric vehicles call the fee unfair and likely to slow sales of cleaner cars. Albert Gore, executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association, said the charge targets EV owners without solving the fund’s bigger problems.
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Industry groups and environmental organizations are expected to lobby against the provision as negotiations continue in the coming weeks.
Why This Matters
The Highway Trust Fund has needed transfers from the general fund for years to cover highway and bridge spending. As more Americans buy electric vehicles, the gap between road use and fuel tax revenue grows larger.
Congress has avoided a gas tax increase for political reasons. The EV fee offers a narrower path to bring in new revenue from the fastest-growing segment of the vehicle market. If approved, it would mark a significant federal step toward requiring electric vehicle owners to pay directly for infrastructure.
