BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AJR 5
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Date of Hearing: March 21, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AJR 5 (Lowenthal) - As Introduced: February 10, 2011
SUBJECT : Transportation: vehicle miles traveled
SUMMARY : Requests the President and Congress of the United
States to enact legislation to conduct a study regarding the
feasibility of collecting transportation revenue based on a
vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fee. Specifically, this
resolution :
1)Declares that the primary funding source for transportation in
the United States is derived from excise and sales tax on
gasoline and diesel fuel collected by the federal, state, and
local governments.
2)Declares that the excise tax on gasoline and diesel fuel is
not indexed to inflation and, as a result, is eroding with
inflation.
3)Declares that the demand for transportation continues to grow
meanwhile the value of the fuel tax is diminishing, making the
fuel tax an increasingly inadequate source of revenue to fund
transportation projects and programs.
4)Declares a need for the creation of supplements or
alternatives to the fuel tax as a transportation revenue
source due to declining supplies of conventional
petroleum-based fuels, increasing numbers of vehicles powered
by nonpetroleum-based fuels, and increasing numbers of
fuel-efficient vehicles.
5)Declares that there is growing disparity between revenue
needed to fund the protection and improvement of the
transportation system and revenue available for those
purposes.
6)Declares that VMT fees have received increasing attention in
recent years as a potential supplement or alternative to the
fuel tax.
7)Declares that the most recent multiyear federal transportation
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authorization, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act-A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)
established the National Surface Transportation Policy and
Revenue Study Commission (Commission) tasked with examining
the condition and future needs of the nation's surface
transportation system, as well as short- and long-term
alternatives to the fuel tax.
8)Declares that the Commission recommended consideration of a
VMT fee.
9)Declares that implementing a VMT fee would involve a number of
operational, technological, and institutional challenges that
need resolution, including determining the method for
calculating mileage, securely transmitting mileage data to a
tax collection agency, instituting privacy protections, and
methodologies for transitioning from the fuel tax to a VMT fee
payment system.
10)Declares that data on deployment of a VMT fee system exists
through the State of Oregon's recent VMT pilot program.
11)Requests that the President and the Congress of the United
States consider and enact legislation to conduct a study
regarding the feasibility of a VMT fee collection process that
would develop a steady and reliable transportation revenue
source for the maintenance and improvement of surface
transportation infrastructure.
12)Directs the Chief Clerk of the Assembly to transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the
United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
the Majority Leader of the Senate, and each Senator and
Representative from California in the Congress of the United
States.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Imposes a 35.3 cent per gallon state excise tax on gasoline
and similar taxes on diesel fuel.
2)Imposes an 18.4 cent per gallon federal excise tax on gasoline
and similar taxes on diesel fuel.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : The author notes the Commission established by
SAFTEA-LU was charged with evaluating future highway and transit
needs, analyzing the finances of the Highway Trust Fund, and
making recommendations regarding alternative approaches to
financing transportation infrastructure. The Commission found
that the current federal motor fuel tax is unsustainable over
the long term and recommended that the United States shift away
from a gas tax to a mileage-based user fee by 2020.
In addition to the Commission's findings, the Legislative
Analyst's Office has affirmed that the current fuel tax has not
kept pace with inflation and continues to erode over time. The
federal fuel tax experienced a 33% loss in purchasing power
since 1993 and the state gas tax has experienced a 29% loss in
value since 1994. Additionally, further erosion of the state
and federal fuel taxes are foreseen as use of fuel efficient and
alternative fuel vehicles increases.
While the fuel tax is eroding, use of the transportation system
is steadily increasing. In California, the California
Transportation Commission notes that travel on California's
roads has increased by 35% between 1991 and 2006. Increased use
of the already aging transportation system along with decreased
revenues available to pay for the systems maintenance and
expansion are issues of great concern.
Numerous states have already begun to look into the possibility
of instituting VMT fees to support transportation
infrastructure. The information generated by individual states
is invaluable, but it is also important that a coordinated
national effort take place.
The author's goal in introducing this resolution is to lend
weight to the Commission's recommendation and strongly encourage
the President and Congress of the United States to enact
legislation that directs a study on the feasibility of creating
a VMT fee collection system. The author notes that, in part,
issues that should be addressed by the study include maintaining
privacy protections of individuals, developing secure methods to
transmit data, addressing revenue collection on inter- verses
intrastate travel, adjusting fees to encourage conservation of
resources and air quality protection, as well as integrating
information and data from VMT fee collection programs in both
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the public and private sectors.
Previous legislation : SB 1299 (A. Lowenthal) of 2010 would have
required the Department of Motor Vehicles to develop and
implement a pilot program by January 1, 2012 to assess specified
issues related to implementing a VMT fee in California. That
bill died in Senate Appropriations Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916) 319-
2093