Bill would replace gas tax with annual auto fee

by Jim Morrill, Charlotte Observer, March 11, 2015.

Tired of the gasoline tax? It would go away under a bill introduced this week by a Mecklenburg County lawmaker.

But Rep. Charles Jeter, a Huntersville Republican, would replace it with an annual fee of $201. Motorists would pay the fee regardless of how many miles they drive.

Jeter’s bill comes after the N.C. House and Senate passed different measures involving the state gas tax. It also comes amid a larger debate over paying for North Carolina’s long-term transportation needs.

The House this month passed a bill cutting the current 37.5 cents per gallon tax to 36 cents for the rest of 2015. A bill passed by the Senate would drop it to 35 cents.

The tax was scheduled to fall to 30 cents per gallon this summer, prompting Democrats to call the Republican measures tax increases.

But Jeter said inevitable fluctuations in the price of gas as well as in fuel usage make the gas tax an unreliable source of revenue.

He said his fee was determined by dividing the amount raised by the current tax with the number of vehicles registered. He acknowledges that once-a-week drivers would pay the same as the heaviest commuters.

“We have to maintain the roads 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year,” Jeter said. “The road network is about access for people and commerce, and admittedly some people will end up paying more (than they otherwise would) and some less.

“But at the end of the day we’ll have a system that will grow in purchasing power, be based on North Carolina car registration and no longer succumb to the volatility of oil from foreign countries.”

Jeter argues that revenues for transportation would rise as more cars are registered.

But Rep. John Torbett, a Gaston County Republican who chairs two House transportation panels, said Jeter’s bill would not tax out-of-state drivers who use North Carolina interstates and other highways. He plans to introduce his own legislation that would reconfigure existing fuel taxes and registration fees.

States around the country are dealing with paying for long-term infrastructure needs.

Oregon is looking at replacing gas taxes with a per-mile, road-use fee. Other states are considering increases in vehicle fees, gas taxes, or special fees on fuel-efficient vehicles. North Carolina already charges owners of hybrids $50 a year.

The bill would likely meet resistance.

Sen. Tommy Tucker, a Union County Republican, said he’s open to new sources of revenue. “But I’m not sure we’re ready for that drastic of a change,” he said.

State Rep. Becky Carney, a Charlotte Democrat, was part of a panel that studied revenue sources a few years ago. She welcomes bills such as Jeter’s.

“We don’t need a study,” she said. “Let’s put some bills up and get them debated.”