Oklahoma Voice reports, Oklahoma lawmakers’ flirtation with the idea of creating a voluntary mileage-based road-use charge program is over.
In 2021, state legislation (HB 1712) mandated creation of an Oklahoma Road User Charge Program and set up a task force to study transportation funding alternatives to address the decline in fuel tax revenues. The study yielded a report but no further action. A sponsor of the legislation, Representative Brian Hill (R-47), now tells Oklahoma Voice, “I don’t foresee Oklahoma implementing a pay-per-mile program in the near future.” Hill says legislation imposing a fee on EV charging and the registration of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids dealt with immediate concerns about transportation funding.
The article notes that Oklahoma’s current rate of motor vehicle fuel taxation — 19 cents per gallon — is among the lowest in the US.