Some EV drivers say they’re open to paying their fair share of road maintenance costs, but question whether a flat fee is the fairest approach.
Before retiring, Sparks resident Rob Delia spent plenty of time sitting in traffic on McCarran and Sparks boulevards. That experience led him to buy an electric hatchback Chevy Bolt. He called the proposed flat fee lazy and questioned why it isn’t based on how far you actually drive.
“It will pass mostly because people are really mad about the price of gas right now, and if they can make somebody else pay too, I think a little Schadenfreude there might be on their agenda, but I don’t blame them,” Delia said.
Forty-two states require special registration fees for electric vehicles, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. But a handful of states, including Utah, allow EV drivers to choose to pay based on mileage instead.
Cindy Ryan, who’s behind the wheel of her self-driving Tesla, said an odometer check would be a fairer option.
“You can take a picture of your odometer when your registration comes due if you're afraid of Big Brother spying on you. I think the flat fee is manifestly unfair, especially to someone like myself who's retired; I don't drive very many miles a year,” Ryan said
Supporters of the ballot question also argue that heavier electric vehicles cause more road damage. While EVs typically weigh hundreds of pounds more than comparable gasoline-powered cars because of their batteries, transportation trucks and buses cause far more wear on roads.
South Reno resident Ken Andrews, who owns a Tesla and an electric Subaru, worried the flat fee could deter people from purchasing an EV.
“I think the government should give people that drive electric cars incentives to do so to keep the air clean, to keep climate change in check,” Andrews said.
Over its lifetime, electric vehicles produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing, charging, and driving than a gasoline car, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
But not every EV owner opposes the proposal. Ford Mustang Mach-E driver Bob Alessandrelli plans to vote yes.
“I drive the roads. I should pay for the roads, and if they’re going to tax me, I’ll pay it,” Alessandrelli said.
How much will it cost?
The Washoe County Regional Transportation Commission requested the ballot question, and county commissioners voted to put it before voters. If passed, it won’t go into effect immediately; instead, RTC will bring it to the state legislature next year.
Government Affairs Officer Paul Nelson said a Guinn Center report showed an annual fee was the quickest and cheapest path forward. Neither RTC nor the Guinn Center provided an estimated cost. Alternatives included taxing people at public charging stations, which would generate little revenue because of at-home chargers, or taxing by mileage. But Nelson said the per-mile option isn’t that easy.
“While people think that might be the most fair way to do it, and it’ll generate the most revenue, the problem with that is that it’s really expensive to implement that kind of technology, and it might take several years to put it into place,” Nelson said. “The trick with that is, what will that registration fee be? You don’t want it to be so high that it disincentivizes people from buying an electric vehicle, but you don’t want it to be too low to where it’s not accomplishing what the goal is in the first place.”
Nelson said RTC would likely propose an annual fee of $250 for electric vehicles and about $125 for hybrids. The proposed EV fee is a little more than half what the average gasoline-powered vehicle pays in gas taxes each year in Washoe County. The fee would be on the high end compared to the rest of the country, with state registration fees ranging from $50 to $270.
Washoe County has the highest county gas tax in Nevada. Nelson said drivers pay about $1.08 every gallon, with roughly 58 cents going to the county and the rest to state and federal taxes. The estimated yearly total is $480, Nelson said.
And that revenue, which funds road construction, maintenance, and repairs, doesn’t stretch as far as it used to. Nelson said RTC is facing a $1.4 billion projected shortfall over the next decade due to inflation and increased construction costs, aging infrastructure, and people buying less gas, which in part is due to fuel-efficient vehicles and EVs.
Electric and hybrid vehicles make up nearly 6% of registrations in Washoe County. Nelson said there’s been explosive growth. For example, in 2020, the county had about 1,500 EVs and 6,000 hybrid vehicles. Five years later, there were 10,500 EVs and 16,000 hybrids.
“Over the last five years, we've seen the revenue lost because of the fuel tax not collected is right around $15.5 million, and that can go a long ways for projects and pavement preservation and things like that,” Nelson.
What do lawmakers and candidates say?
It comes down to political willpower. Several democratic legislators and Gov. Joe Lombardo’s office declined to comment before voters make their choice. In 2023, the governor proposed a year-long gas tax suspension; it went nowhere.
“If there’s a chance that he’ll sign it, it would be in his second term, because he doesn’t have the political fallout; in essence, this is a tax, and he did promise no taxes,” Nelson said.
During KUNR’s gubernatorial candidate forum this month, Democratic challenger Aaron Ford signaled some interest.
“This is one that’s at the top of my list of learning more about. I’m not adverse to the notion. I do want to ascertain ways in which we can equalize and make it more fair,” Ford told the crowd. “Electric vehicles are indeed using our roads and should be required to pay for them, but let's figure out what the correct structure is. I won’t commit to a structure, but I will commit to a conversation to figure out the best approach going forward.”
Republican Washoe County Commissioner Clara Andriola voted in support of putting the measure on the ballot during a board meeting in June, but did not respond to KUNR’s request to discuss the topic further.
“I am a EV owner, and I do not pay, and my vehicle is heavier than most other vehicles that are comparable to its size, so every day I’m going and traveling around, I am not paying my fair share,” Andriola said.
If passed and then proposed during the 2027 Nevada Legislative Session, the bill could be modified or applied more broadly to include the entire state. Nelson said the long-term goal is to charge all vehicles based on miles driven.
