Stop Texas and Washington, D.C. from double taxing you!
Please call or email U.S. Senators Cornyn https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/contact-john-cornyn/ and Cruz https://www.cruz.senate.gov/contact today to express opposition to the new additional annual $250 federal EV road use fee contained in the House version of the “big, beautiful budget bill.” Importantly, this new fee is not in the Senate version of the bill – ask them to keep it that way. Please be respectful and polite.
As an EV driver, I am certain you are already aware that annually, Texas EV owners are already subject to an additional state “road use fee” of $200.
See Sec. 502.360, Texas Transportation Code, Additional Fee for Electric Vehicles (https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/docs/tn/htm/tn.502.htm)
Specifically, we request the removal of the proposed, inequitable, and discriminatory federal $250 annual electric vehicle fee contained in the House version of the bill. While we acknowledge that electric vehicle drivers should contribute equitably, the proposed fee is not commensurate with the actual costs of road use by EVs and is excessive.
If this additional fee is approved by Congress, you will pay a total of $450 in registration fees for “road use” plus your regular registration amount. This is significantly higher than the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) stated was a fair fee to recoup the cost of road use by an electric vehicle.
For reference, a December 2020 study conducted by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (https://www.txdmv.gov/sites/default/files/report-files/SB_604_AFV-Report_120120.pdf) revealed that “if the consumer replaces the conventional vehicle with a fully electric one, which would result in approximately a $100 reduction in state gasoline tax collections per year per vehicle and similarly a $95 reduction in federal gasoline tax collections per year per vehicle.” At that time, we expressed our disagreement with this analysis, and we continue to do so, as it presents an extreme scenario regarding the mileage driven by electric vehicles. Nevertheless, it serves as an indication of the unfair nature of the proposed new federal fee.
The concept of an additional state-level electric vehicle registration fee is not exclusive to Texas. Thirty-nine states have imposed some road use fee on electric vehicles, as reported by the National Council on State Legislatures. (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/business/ev-fees-gas-tax.html?unlocked_article_code=1.QE8.CG0h.Y-fOVgkGp4JD&smid=url-share)
Please don’t delay! Call and/or email your US senators and ask them to please take action to stop this double taxation before it begins.
Buzz
Executive Director, Texas EV Alliance