DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) – Heads up if you own an electric vehicle: a bill that would put an annual fee on such vehicles has been signed by Governor Josh Shapiro.

“We’re collecting less and less revenue to help pay for our roads,” said Anne Blair, with the Electrification Coalition. “There is a become a big concern about how we’re going to pay for our roads, because as fuel efficiency of vehicles has been declining over the past decade. And that becomes a safety issue.

“So, it is a reasonable argument to look for alternate steps to be able to pay for that,” she added. “And so as one option, with more and more electric vehicles on the road, legislators have been looking at, you know, should we be taxing electric vehicles in some way to pay for their fair share of using the roads and paying towards those costs since they’re no longer paying for gas tax?”

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After much discussion, Senate Bill 656, sponsored by Senator Greg Rothman was introduced.

This bill would eliminate the Alternative Fuel Tax.

Blair tells abc27 News many people support this bill, while others don’t.

“There’s probably a smarter way to do it than to simply slap a onetime bill once a year on these cars,” said Nathaniel Finkin of Lebanon County.

Finkin drives a Tesla and says he loves it.

“So, I understand the need to capture revenue from these cars that isn’t being captured at the gas pump,” said Finkin. “So, I understand that as there’s more electric vehicles, there’s going to be a revenue shortfall. I don’t know if doing a lump sum tax is the way to go.”

Blair says with this annual tax, electric vehicle owners would pay $200.00 the first year, $250.00 the second year and the third year “would be based on inflation factors.”

So, what does this mean for drivers behind the wheel of a hybrid car?

“People who drive hybrids in particular will continue to pay gas tax from fueling their car,” Blair added. “So, a hybrid, you know, it will, you know, utilize an electric motor, but is still primarily based its operation on gasoline. So, they are not as impacted in the same way that all electric vehicles are impacted by having to pay this fee.”

Shapiro signed the bill Wednesday.

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