(Source: MIRS.news, Published 02/02/2023) The road building lobby is following through on its desire to increase revenue for the roads by increasing the fees electric vehicle owners kick into state coffers.
Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association (MITA) lobbyist Lance Binoniemi will not name them, but he said he has rounded up "a bi-partisan handful" of legislators willing to back a pilot program to get this revenue-raising assignment off the ground.
He said the two-to-three lawmakers are looking at what the logistics of a pilot program would look like here.
Is it a voluntary program for EV owners only or does it include the state government fleet of cars, too?
Binoniemi reported that one state has 18 options it is considering, and he and state lawmakers are pawing through those to see what is the best fit for Michigan.
"We are fleshing out how this will look, and we hope to have something to introduce as early as this spring," he said.
For those hoping the governor, who supports the concept of raising more cash from the EV market, will include some seed money for this pilot program in her new budget, that is not going to happen.
That's because, in large part, the federal government, through the Biden Infrastructure and Jobs package, has already designated $75 million for each state that addresses this challenge with a pilot funding plan.
The MITA lobbyist said the top priority is to include EV owners so that they talk to their friends and neighbors about how easy the program is, thus building support in the Legislature to go beyond the pilot stage.
