Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Sunday, September 18, 2022
​Rolling With a Road Usage Charge
By Tom Yamachika @ 6:00 AM :: 1772 Views :: Taxes

Rolling With a Road Usage Charge

by Tom Yamachika, President, Tax Foundation Hawaii

As many of you already know, the Hawaii Department of Transportation has been studying implementation of a Road Usage Charge (RUC). Such a charge would be assessed to a driver based on how many miles they’ve driven on our highways and byways, and it’s (at least in theory) designed to replace the fuel tax that is now the primary contributor to the state’s Highway Fund.

HIDOT has now published its final report on its HiRUC website. Some of its key findings:

First, Hawaii drivers have a high level of understanding (not sure how this is measured) and high initial acceptance of road usage charges with more support than opposition (noting that the questions asked drivers about their opinions of the RUC as a replacement for, not in addition to, the current gas tax).

Second, public support grew when funds are dedicated to maintenance and improvement of roads and bridges (perhaps showing a recognition of the possibility that lawmakers might want to use the funds for something else, like public employee salaries or – gasp – rail).

Third, support grew when rental cars are charged a higher rate than residents (of course they surveyed residents only, and not rental car drivers).

HIDOT’s plan for implementing the program sounds reasonable enough. It plans to introduce legislation, such as Senate Bill 3313 in the 2022 legislative session, to establish a RUC for electric vehicles only. It wouldn’t replace the fuel tax (which electric vehicle owners don’t pay anyway) but it would instead replace the flat $50 registration fee now imposed on electric vehicles. The longer-term game plan is then to phase out the gas tax and phase in the RUC for other vehicles.

When this plan is implemented, however, it might not go quite as smoothly as HIDOT envisions it.

First, there is a contingent of people who are pushing a carbon tax. A carbon tax collects money to pay for the societal costs of pollution, global warming, and other environmental damage wrought by fossil fuel burning. Given that many of the environmental damages have already occurred, the goal of the tax is to fix the past damage and not simply compensate for current social costs. Furthermore, it is there to disincentivize (i.e., penalize) fossil fuel use. Rather than getting rid of the existing tax on gasoline, they want to jack it up big time. This past session, House Bill 2278 proposed to change the barrel tax on gasoline from $1.05 to $5.27 per barrel initially, increasing in phases to $33.16 when fully phased in. That translates to 12.5 cents a gallon initially and 79 cents a gallon when fully phased in.

Not only would the carbon tax supporters seethe at the idea of getting rid of the fuel tax to support a RUC, but they also probably would have a tremendous problem with using the RUC money exclusively to fix roads and bridges as HIDOT wants. We need to plant those trees! Scrub those smokestacks! Encourage the adoption of alternative energy like photovoltaic and wind energy! How is this going to happen if we ONLY collect enough money to fix the roads and bridges? It’s nowhere near enough!

Political dynamics like these make me more than a little nervous that the plan put forward by HIDOT will morph into something entirely more gruesome during the legislative process.

It then becomes up to the rest of us, the constituents, to elect lawmakers who will come up with or follow reasonable policies and not allow lawmakers to go off the deep end with the RUC. Fasten your seatbelts for the 2023 legislative session. It may be a wild ride.

---30---

CS: Think tank: Hawaii's road usage charge for EVs could have twists and turns

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT