Virginia To Impose Annual Fees On Hybrid Car Owners

[TylerDurden]

Virginia To Impose Annual Fees On Hybrid Car Owners, Fueling New Transportation Funding Protests
Jason Linkins
Huffington Post
Posted: 02/20/2013 4:07 pm EST | Updated: 02/20/2013 4:21 pm EST


In the Commonwealth of Virginia, the issue of transportation funding has always been a very tough nut to crack. Traffic in the D.C.-Metropolitan area is notoriously bad, and so residents of Northern Virginia are always seeking some sort of relief from torturous commutes. But regional divisions between Virginians in the D.C. area and those who reside in the rest of the state tend to dominate the discussion in Richmond, and residents outside NoVA fairly consistently inveigh against being taxed to solve a problem far away from where they live. So the fact that the lawmakers in Virginia's State Senate and House of Delegates have arrived at some sort of accord on how to fund transportation is big news. But not everyone is going to like what they've agreed to do.

Jim Nolan at the Richmond Times-Dispatch has the essential details. The basic gist is that the negotiators have arrived at a plan that would raise about $880 million, through a mix of sales tax increases, accounting adjustments and fees. But two key details stick out. First, the package would swap out Virginia's current 17.5 cents per gallon gas tax "with a 3.5 percent wholesale tax paid by distributors and a 6 percent wholesale tax on diesel fuel." Second, the state would impose an annual fee of $100 on owners of hybrid vehicles.

And owners of hybrids aren't too happy about the decision. Back on Jan. 31, hybrid owners turned out in force, encircling the Virginia Capitol building in protest of possible fees:

• Beth Kemler attended the protest to voice her opposition.
  "We should be rewarding people for trying to do their part to stop the climate crisis and to lower pollution," she says. "We shouldn't be punishing them with taxes."
  
  Another protestor, Laurel Snowd, says she bought her vehicle to protect the environment.
  
  "I really feel like we should be supporting people who want to do that and not penalizing them, and trying to get more people to buy hybrid cars," she says.

A letter to the editor of the Fairfax Station Patch criticized the coming decision along similar lines:

• While I understand the reasoning behind eliminating the gas tax, instating an annual fee on something someone has already purchased just seems like a way to earn a quick buck on people who were actually trying to make an educated decision.
  Hybrid owners used to be honored for their choice, like being able to have access to the HOV lanes, but which is no longer in effect for hybrids registered after July 1st, 2011, on interstates 95, 395, or 66. It doesn't make sense to constantly target the people that are trying to make a difference and punish them for their efforts while rewarding owners of gas guzzling vehicles. If our state requires more money for transportation then they shouldn’t be eliminating the gas tax and supplementing with this annual alternative fuel fee.

At first blush, it seems like something of a perverse incentive to drop the cost of the gas tax, while imposing a fee on hybrid owners. The technology that underpins hybrid cars make them more expensive than regular cars, and those owners factor the long-term savings on gas purchases into their decision to go green. But hybrid cars nevertheless put wear and tear on roads, just like ordinary vehicles, and the traditional means of raising revenues for the upkeep of roads and highways are gasoline taxes.

But I'm not sure it makes a ton of sense to scuttle the existing 17.5 cents per gallon tax and impose a fee on hybrids at a time when Virginia's transportation needs are so great. As Joseph Henchman of the Tax Foundation notes, that gas tax was set to raise $961 million, which is much more than the revenues this new deal will reportedly produce. (Henchman, for what it's worth, calls for a substantial increase in the gas tax, alongside "targeted highway tolling" and a Northern Virginia-specific sales tax increase.) Nevertheless, if I'm thinking long-term, in a gas-tax dependent world, a future in which hybrid cars are the norm -- which would be fantastic, in my mind -- would potentially lead to a larger revenue shortfall and future crises in terms of infrastructural upkeep.

Besides, Virginia is not the first state to impose such a fee. In Washington State, which is not exactly known as a hotbed of conservative culture war emanations, the state imposed a similar $100 annual fee on hybrid owners at the end of last year. So while I can understand how it looks when Virginia is seemingly lessening the burden on regular cars while imposing new costs on hybrid owners, the simple fact of the matter is that these annual fees may soon be widespread, regardless of how future discussions about gasoline taxes go.

This isn't a settled matter for me and I'm open to argument, so by all means, have at it. I'll just suggest that the virtue of increasing the gas tax by a substantial amount gets at a policy that's closer to incentivizing against driving altogether, instead encouraging the greater use of, and funding for, public transportation. Which, let's face it, is where the much more idiotic culture war argument resides.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/20/virginia-hybrid-fees_n_2727142.html

 

[MattyCiii]

Idiots.

Like the sh1t brained idea in Washington state to have a "symbolic" excise tax on bicycles... while cars still cause $2 in damage to roads for every $1 they pay.

Our politicians know who creates the costs. They're just to puzzy to raise the gas tax to a level that's fair and adequate.

Damn, I remember when America was a great nation, and now I weep.

 

[dogman dan]

Goes to show you how they think. Last time I looked, hybrids do use gas and few are plug in hybrids that might not. So whack em for not sitting in gridlock spewing out smog?

Now maybe, just maybe it could make some sense if all vehicles getting better than 30 mpg epa ratings got a fee. But not just the hybrids.

I somewhat dispute the idea that hybrids gas tax doesn't pay their wear and tear. Everybody knows that wear and tear is proportional to weight, not gas mileage. Weigh the vehicles, and charge more to register those that weigh more. Keep some gas tax though, so you get some connection between what they pay and the mileage they drive too. Here where I live, the hybrids are usually owned by the guy you want to buy a used car from. Doesn't work anymore, and drives it about 3000 miles a year max.

 

[grindz145]

As if you needed another reason not to live in Virginia....

 

[muffinman]

Damn, I remember when America was a great nation, and now I weep.

how old are you? 125? 150? its been a looong time since america was great.

 

[miro13car]

idiots they are.
and narrow minded ones.
they never looked at health implications of operating gazoline only vehicle and hybrid one?
hybrid sitting in traffic does not emit, gasoline one does emit pollution.

 

[Dauntless]

Damn, I remember when America was a great nation, and now I weep.

how old are you? 125? 150? its been a looong time since america was great.

125 years since America was great? It's only the beginning of the 21st century, not the end.

117 years ago the Spanish occupation of the Phillippines decided to hang Jose Rizal , a onetime revolutionary who'd long given up on his dream of independence. Not for anything he'd done, but just to put the fear of meeting their maker into anyone else thinking of a new uprising. His classic line on the eve of his execution, '. . . .Scaffold of open plain, combat or martyrdom's plight' would be followed shortly by Admiral Dewey's even more legendary "You may fire when ready, Gridley" as the United States liberated the Phillippines from Spain and set them on the path toward independence.

Back home, Henry Ford was developing the Model T, which would soon number more than half the cars in the WORLD at one point. As he was introducing it, a bicycle racer went to Europe and made the sad realization that 'American cars go downhill slower than European cars go UPHILL.' Thus did he decide to build what was to be the worlds largest proving ground at the time, what we know as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

After 3 years of knuckling under the army of Kaiser Wilhelm, Europe was in near collapse. Until the "Doughboys" arrived. Months later Germany was in retreat, suing for peace. 23 years later the Americans would have to return, this time to stop the Socialists in Germany and the Facists in Italy. Those who fought in World War II would return home and build the United States to it's greatest heights, far exceeding anything of the 19th Century. Tom Brokaw aptly dubbed them 'The Greatest Generation.'

Oh, I could go on. (Berlin airlift, anyone?) Not that there isn't still good things being done today, but so much has been lost in the last 30-40 years. (NOT 125 years.) For every Bill Clinton who tries to put us back on track, it seems there's TWO George Bushs. Some will decry Ronald Reagan and yet debase themselves by voting for Barack Obama. For all we've done to save Europe, they celebrate what they call "The AntiAmerican President:" instead of building themselves up to our level they're happy to see Obama drag us down to theirs.

Hey, I agree it's bad, it's getting worse by the day. For at least the next 46 months. This isn't the first Facist president we've had, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was an open admirer of Benito Mussolini. The Supreme Court of his time wasn't, too bad we didn't have THEM around a year ago.

So while there's much pain and suffering to go around for the next few years, I try to remind myself - Presidents come and Presidents go. But America abides. The people holding this one in place will probably be too fat and lazy to put another in his place in 2016. I want to believe nobody will be questioning our greatness by 2020.

Oh, he's not an American, but I wrote a report on Jose Rizal in the 5th grade, just had to put that up at the bottom.

[youtube]gCR83LxGKkg[/youtube]

My Last Farewell
by Jose Rizal

Farewell, dear Fatherland, clime of the sun caress'd,
Pearl of the Orient seas, our Eden lost!
Gladly now I go to give thee this faded life's best,
And were it brighter, fresher, or more blest,
Still would I give it thee, nor count the cost.

On the field of battle, 'mid the frenzy of fight,
Others have given their lives, without doubt or heed;
The place matters not--cypress or laurel or lily white,
Scaffold of open plain, combat or martyrdom's plight,
'Tis ever the same, to serve our home and country's need.

I die just when I see the dawn break,
Through the gloom of night, to herald the day;
And if color is lacking my blood thou shalt take,
Pour'd out at need for thy dear sake,
To dye with its crimson the waking ray.

My dreams, when life first opened to me,
My dreams, when the hopes of youth beat high,
Were to see thy lov'd face, O gem of the Orient sea,
From gloom and grief, from care and sorrow free;
No blush on thy brow, no tear in thine eye

Dream of my life, my living and burning desire,
All hail! cries the soul that is now to take flight;
All hail! And sweet it is for thee to expire;
To die for thy sake, that thou mayst aspire;
And sleep in thy bosom eternity's long night.

If over my grave some day thou seest grow,
In the grassy sod, a humble flower,
Draw it to thy lips and kiss my soul so,
While I may feel on my brow in the cold tomb below
The touch of thy tenderness, thy breath's warm power.

Let the moon beam over me soft and serene,
Let the dawn shed over me its radiant flashes,
Let the wind with sad lament over me keen;
And if on my cross a bird should be seen,
Let it trill there its hymn of peace to my ashes.

Let the sun draw the vapors up to the sky,
And heavenward in purity bear my tardy protest;
Let some kind soul o'er my untimely fate sigh,
And in the still evening a prayer be lifted on high
From thee, O my country, that in God I may rest.

Pray for all those that hapless have died,
For all who have suffered the unmeasur'd pain;
For our mothers that bitterly their woes have cried,
For widows and orphans, for captives by torture tried;
And then for thyself that redemption thou mayst gain.

And when the dark night wraps the graveyard around,
With only the dead in their vigil to see;
Break not my repose or the mystery profound,
And perchance thou mayst hear a sad hymn resound;
'Tis I, O my country, raising a song unto thee.

When even my grave is remembered no more,
Unmark'd by never a cross nor a stone;
Let the plow sweep through it, the spade turn it o'er,
That my ashes may carpet thy earthly floor,
Before into nothingness at last they are blown.

Then will oblivion bring to me no care,
As over thy vales and plains I sweep;
Throbbing and cleansed in thy space and air,
With color and light, with song and lament I fare,
Ever repeating the faith that I keep.

My Fatherland ador'd, that sadness to my sorrow lends,
Beloved Filipinas, hear now my last good-by!
I give thee all: parents and kindred and friends;
For I go where no slave before the oppressor bends,
Where faith can never kill, and God reigns e'er on high!

Farewell to you all, from my soul torn away,
Friends of my childhood in the home dispossessed!
Give thanks that I rest from the wearisome day!
Farewell to thee, too, sweet friend that lightened my way;
Beloved creatures all, farewell! In death there is rest!

 

[bowlofsalad]

Reminds me of a sign I saw on a billboard over a auto mechanic shop.

"Land of the free? Home of the brave?"

 

[Arlo1]

This is some scary stuff guys. Its Pretty obvious someone or multiple someones want us all to burn as much gasoline as we can afford.... This is just pure disgusting! How long will shit like this be shoved down your/our thoughts until we stand up?

 

[bowlofsalad]

This is some scary stuff guys. Its Pretty obvious someone or multiple someones want us all to burn as much gasoline as we can afford.... This is just pure disgusting! How long will shit like this be shoved down your/our thoughts until we stand up?

Sounds like conspiracy to me. Honestly, it would be a total shocker if the oil industry didn't do this. A lot of people fall short on seeing the big picture on capitalism. Make profits, that's the goal. In fact, I'd be surprised if the oil industry wouldn't send kill squads to destroy people and things involved in battery technology like lithium air. Money.

 

[CroArcher]

They are not killing them,they are buying them..

 

[Arlo1]

At the end of the day we don't have any proof but... The government makes money from the use of oil and gas as well. You can also wonder if the oil companies are making such crazy money (which they are) then they can definitely pad the pockets of some people who are in enough control to insure the use of their drug!

 

[Eascen]

As a Northern Virginia resident, what you unfortunately miss is the commonwealth details. Income and taxes for the state largely come from the northern area, which gets sunk into the rest of the state. While I may not agree with this, there are other details:

I pay property tax on my cars. I have a newer kia which gives me around 24mpg, and my 03 truck that's roughly 15. Now, I'm in the minority of people in this area as I only commute roughly 12 miles each way -- due to heavy housing prices in the area a lot of my coworkers drive 50-ish miles, topped off with traffic and a lack of funds being distributed to this area (which, you know pays the bulk of the taxes). It's really an unfair deal to us, but at the same time we're not the only residents of the state. These property taxes on my two vehicles runs roughly $600 a year. Registration isn't terribly expensive at roughly $35 a year per.

I took a job based off commute, which ranges from 14 (my new record weds morning) to an average of 20-ish minutes a day ( I try to work 7-3 ), but should I leave at 530, it's about 30-ish minutes... to travel a mere 12 miles. Were I to travel to DC, at a bad time, the 15 mile drive can take well over an hour.

To me, removing this gas tax is a terrible idea, simply because it encourages people to live 50 miles away from work, which is an extreme amount of fuel expense rather than living closer. Another major issue is the size of the metropolitan area and how jobs are distributed. Being a Phoenix denizen for quite a large part of my life, I love it and miss it. Running to the store? Few minutes away. Costco? 10 during traffic time. This comes down to the funding of the state not going to where it's most needed, an argument that I rather dislike. If the economic breadwinner for the state is here, why wouldn't we get priority on improvements? On the other hand, improvements also allow people to commute further, which is the exact opposite of what I'd like to see happen here.

The bright side: While I haven't ridden my 'moped' much, I ride it on the right side of a 50mph road with a sizable shoulder, and average around 38mpg. My commute is about 25 minutes on the (ebikemopedshouldbeamotorcycle) and ... which puts me at a worst case mpge of 260 (if I can ever get good battery packs), and I've talked to an officer about it and VA law allows me to classify it as a moped, which requires no license or registration, and a 35mph (hah!) limit. I've passed 5 officers doing traffic duty so far without a word. I'm hoping to get the battery situation fixed soon and make this my main mode of transportation soon. It's also possible for me to take different routes into DC that would cut even traffic time commute to 30-ish minutes. With as 'hippie' as NOVA is, I'm hoping this catches on quite a bit quicker...

 

[Dauntless]

. . . . commute, which ranges from 14 (my new record weds morning) to an average of 20-ish minutes a day ( I try to work 7-3 ), but should I leave at 530, it's about 30-ish minutes... to travel a mere 12 miles. Were I to travel to DC, at a bad time, the 15 mile drive can take well over an hour.

In southern california double the travel time for those distances at those times. If I want to leave the house at 8 to head 30 miles into the heart of LA, I'll be getting there around 10. We pay all the gas taxes, nothing is discouraged by it. People do live more than 50 miles from work, per home prices.

But it occurs to me that the cost of my going to LA is probably about the same as driving thru several counties in Texas, as one relative does to visit her Mother several weekends a month. Takes about the same amount of time, but at constant freeway speed. What does the commute really hurt if it occurs at speed instead of stop and go traffic. Gas comsumption is mainly about running time, not much less is used idling, really.

There's the ongoing dispute between northern and southern California, oh aren't WE a long and thin state. But the south has the population, the north has the capital, etc. The Peoples Republic in the North has in the past wanted to start a smaller dictatorship on their own, lately they seem to figure that giving the south back our rights leaves them taking less away, etc., so they're no longer keen on the idea. But we've developed an interest around here. At least there's not that much argument about where the money is being spent. There's NO money in California at this time.

 

[Jason27]

Big oil must be involved somehow.

This is insane to impose this in hybrid car owners. Good thing ebikes are under the radar.