Home » News » Politics
Lawmakers: Vehicle efficiency running ahead of state tax revenue
CONCORD — As more efficient vehicles drive down fuel tax revenue, and electric and natural gas-fueled cars are on the horizon, some lawmakers wonder what can be done to maintain funding for the state’s roads and bridges.
“We need to look at some mechanism to get these vehicles to contribute their fair share to the highway fund,” Rep. John Graham, R-Bedford, told the House Ways and Means Committee Thursday.
Graham and three other members of the House Public Works Committee want to establish a commission to study how alternative fueled vehicles should be taxed so they contribute to constructing and maintaining the state’s highway system. House Bill 1144 would establish the commission.
Non-turnpike highway construction and maintenance is funded mainly by the state’s gas tax, which has not been increased since 1991, and vehicle registration fees, both of which go into the state Highway Fund.
With the price of gasoline climbing and manufacturers producing more fuel-efficient vehicles, the highway fund coffers are not as robust as in the past.
Lawmakers have studied the issue before, but Graham said now is the time for a serious discussion on how alternative fuel vehicles should contribute to road and bridge maintenance.
“We need to figure out a way to do it without creating another bureaucracy,” he said. “During the last biennium, we raised the registration fee on all vehicles. We need to look at those types of things.”
Several Ways and Means Committee members suggested the study include hybrid vehicle as well. Graham said they do contribute some money because they do use gasoline, and added that might bog down the study.
New Hampshire is not alone in seeking contributions from alternative fuel vehicle owners for highway infrastructure. About a half dozen states have mechanisms in place to address the issue, said Gary Abbott, executive vice president of the Associated General Contractors of New Hampshire. But, he noted, New Hampshire’s statute does not allow any tax on fuel besides gasoline and diesel.
His organization is putting together a report that will look at long-term and short-term ideas, Abbott said. “There are not many of these vehicles today, but they will continue to grow by the time you put something in place,” he noted.
Rebecca Ohler of the Department of Environmental Services noted a federal government mandate requires vehicles to average 55 mpg by 2025. “Over the long term, that means declining revenues unless miles traveled head straight up and that’s not a desirable,” she said.
Today, there are few alternative vehicles currently registered in the state: 369 electric vehicles and two to three dozen natural gas vehicles, mostly owned by public entities such as the state and municipalities.
Ohler doesn’t expect to see a large increase in alternative vehicles in the next year because they are very expensive.
Ways and Means Committee chairman Stephen Stepanek, R-Milford, said that with the low number, it would make sense to include hybrid vehicles in the study and to extend it out another year to 2013. “What’s more pressing is the number of hybrids on the road,” he noted.
Ohler agreed and noted it is an extremely complex and complicated issue, adding some standard vehicles are more efficient that the hybrids.
She suggested the commission might want to look at a policy that encompasses travel itself rather than focus on fuel use.
Among the possibilities mentioned was Oregon, which tracks vehicles in the state and assesses them on the miles driven, but several people noted that probably is not an idea that would be accepted in New Hampshire.
Ohler said the idea was discussed in the most recent study, but was quickly dropped.
She noted a vehicle’s mileage is tracked year to year when it is inspected.
Under the bill, a representative, a senator and designees from the departments of revenue administration, safety, transportation, environmental services, and resources and economic development would comprise the commission.
Stepanek appointed a subcommittee to work on the bill.
“We need to look at some mechanism to get these vehicles to contribute their fair share to the highway fund,” Rep. John Graham, R-Bedford, told the House Ways and Means Committee Thursday.
Graham and three other members of the House Public Works Committee want to establish a commission to study how alternative fueled vehicles should be taxed so they contribute to constructing and maintaining the state’s highway system. House Bill 1144 would establish the commission.
Non-turnpike highway construction and maintenance is funded mainly by the state’s gas tax, which has not been increased since 1991, and vehicle registration fees, both of which go into the state Highway Fund.
With the price of gasoline climbing and manufacturers producing more fuel-efficient vehicles, the highway fund coffers are not as robust as in the past.
Lawmakers have studied the issue before, but Graham said now is the time for a serious discussion on how alternative fuel vehicles should contribute to road and bridge maintenance.
“We need to figure out a way to do it without creating another bureaucracy,” he said. “During the last biennium, we raised the registration fee on all vehicles. We need to look at those types of things.”
Several Ways and Means Committee members suggested the study include hybrid vehicle as well. Graham said they do contribute some money because they do use gasoline, and added that might bog down the study.
New Hampshire is not alone in seeking contributions from alternative fuel vehicle owners for highway infrastructure. About a half dozen states have mechanisms in place to address the issue, said Gary Abbott, executive vice president of the Associated General Contractors of New Hampshire. But, he noted, New Hampshire’s statute does not allow any tax on fuel besides gasoline and diesel.
His organization is putting together a report that will look at long-term and short-term ideas, Abbott said. “There are not many of these vehicles today, but they will continue to grow by the time you put something in place,” he noted.
Rebecca Ohler of the Department of Environmental Services noted a federal government mandate requires vehicles to average 55 mpg by 2025. “Over the long term, that means declining revenues unless miles traveled head straight up and that’s not a desirable,” she said.
Today, there are few alternative vehicles currently registered in the state: 369 electric vehicles and two to three dozen natural gas vehicles, mostly owned by public entities such as the state and municipalities.
Ohler doesn’t expect to see a large increase in alternative vehicles in the next year because they are very expensive.
Ways and Means Committee chairman Stephen Stepanek, R-Milford, said that with the low number, it would make sense to include hybrid vehicles in the study and to extend it out another year to 2013. “What’s more pressing is the number of hybrids on the road,” he noted.
Ohler agreed and noted it is an extremely complex and complicated issue, adding some standard vehicles are more efficient that the hybrids.
She suggested the commission might want to look at a policy that encompasses travel itself rather than focus on fuel use.
Among the possibilities mentioned was Oregon, which tracks vehicles in the state and assesses them on the miles driven, but several people noted that probably is not an idea that would be accepted in New Hampshire.
Ohler said the idea was discussed in the most recent study, but was quickly dropped.
She noted a vehicle’s mileage is tracked year to year when it is inspected.
Under the bill, a representative, a senator and designees from the departments of revenue administration, safety, transportation, environmental services, and resources and economic development would comprise the commission.
Stepanek appointed a subcommittee to work on the bill.