Louisiana’s retiring transportation secretary is proposing a pilot program to test the feasibility of a road mileage fee to eventually replace the state’s gas tax, which is generating less revenue due to the popularity of electric cars and improved gas mileage.
Secretary of Transportation and Development Shawn Wilson made the announcement recently before members of the Louisiana Electric Vehicle Task Force, expressing support for a program involving up to 4,000 vehicles. The nonprofit Reason Foundation would support the program with research it has collected on road-use fees.
The proposal comes in the wake of a report by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office last September that estimated the state’s gas tax revenues would decline by about $564 million during the years 2023 to 2032. The study assumes that electric vehicles will account for 30% of all new-vehicle sales in the state by 2032.
"The fuel tax is no longer a sustainable revenue source,” Baruch Feigenbaum, senior transportation policy analyst at Reason Foundation, told the Louisiana Record in an email. “A mileage-based user-fee pilot program would help Louisiana answer the question of whether mileage fees can be a replacement for the gas tax.”
Both supporters and foes of such a mileage fee should be in favor of a pilot program, since it will help policymakers to determine if the fee provides a good fit for Louisiana, Feigenbaum said. He added that current technology can be used in a Louisiana mileage-based fee system.
“The best mileage-based user fee pilot programs provide different technological and privacy options so drivers can choose what works for them,” he said. “In testing mileage-based user fees, one option could be paying the fees based on a simple odometer reading conducted once per year.”
An alternative for drivers could involve using a Global Positioning System, either with or without location capabilities, according to Feigenbaum.
To guard against data breaches from such mileage-tracking systems, states could employ strong security technology to protect mileage data, he said.
The state Legislature last year passed legislation to allow for road-usage fees on electric vehicles, but the effort won’t be enough to fully compensate for the downward trend in gas tax revenues, according to the state auditor’s report.