Tom Warne Report, 14 July 2013
Oregon transportation officials will soon be authorized to charge a 1.5-cent per mile fee for up to 5,000 cars and light commercial vehicles. The recent approval of Senate Bill 810 also allows the state Department of Transportation to issue an equivalent gas tax refund to drivers who volunteer to participate in the new fuel tax alternative.
Gov. John Kitzhaber is expected to sign the bill, which calls for the system to be implemented by July 1, 2015.
The state will need to provide some administrative overhead. Vehicle owners must apply to participate and upon acceptance, use approved metering technology that will track mileage.
The new measure requires the state Department of Transportation to do a number of things, including establish methods for reporting and recording miles traveled, consider privacy and security of participants regarding the data collected. The DOT will responsible for establishing “at least one method of collecting and reporting the number of miles traveled by a subject vehicle that does not use vehicle location technology’ and implement standards for open system technology.
The bill’s fiscal note estimates that the cost to implement the voluntary program will be $2.8 million in the 2013-15 biennium, which will be used to pay staffers. Revenue over that period will be minimal.
We recognize the significant hurdle privacy will be with this technology. Thus the charge to find at least one method of tracking mileage without tracking the location of the travel. We will will all be grateful for Oregon’s leadership in this arena as the whole industry struggles to find solutions to funding shortfalls. While fuel tax remains our bread and butter, pennies per gallon do not take into account inflation or increased fleet efficiency. ODOT, we are all watching and hoping for a good outcome. JN