SAN DIEGO — California Assembly Bill 1421 does not create a mileage tax, but it is a measure to continue a multi-year state study on whether the state should replace its gas tax with a mileage-based road-usage fee.
California’s roads rely heavily on gas-tax revenue. Drivers currently pay about 61 cents per gallon in state excise taxes, representing billions of dollars for road maintenance and transit projects every year.
“What’s happened now is that people are buying more hybrid cars, they’re buying more electric cars, and as a result of that, they’re not buying as much gas,” Alan Gin, PhD, an economics professor at the University of San Diego, said. “They’re still using the roads, but they have not been paying the gasoline tax.”…