Can we move beyond the gas tax? What is a fair and equitable way to pay for our state road system?
At our last meeting we were joined by a guest speaker, Reema Griffith, Executive Director, Washington State Transportation Commission. She gave a very interesting presentation on research the State Transportation Commission is doing on replacing the current gas tax with a per mile fee. As cars are getting more fuel efficient, and as electric vehicles become more prevalent, the state needs a way to fund roads that is not based solely on the gas tax. Presentation
43rd District Democrats Environmental Caucus 
I don’t get it. The gas tax is working. The higher it goes, the better. Those that want to to lower their costs can buy an electric car (or pickup, or truck, etc). In fact, increase the gas tax to cover all costs of road maintenance. People that keep their gas guzzlers will be motivated to dump them. We are years away from needing to make this change.
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One issue is that in lieu of a gas tax, electric and hybrid cars pay a yearly surcharge on their car tabs for road maintenance, often much higher than the corresponding gas tax would be for the miles they drive.
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