UPDATE: WA state gas tax. Pay per mile proposal

UPDATE: WA state gas tax. Pay per mile proposal. 

A few months ago, we had a story about the possibility of Washington State phasing out their gasoline tax and switching to a tax per mile system. Here is the latest information on that proposal. 

According to axios.com,
‘A plan to tax Washington drivers by the mile to help replace the state's waning gas tax revenue is back before the Legislature.
As cars have gotten more fuel efficient, revenue from the state's gas tax has decreased, contributing to problems paying for state transportation projects, state Rep. Jake Fey (D-Tacoma), who chairs the House Transportation Committee, told Axios.’ 

State Representative Jack Fey’s proposal would make the program optional to start with and then have it kick in for all electric and hybrid vehicles in 2029. 

At that point, electric and hybrid vehicles would pay a 2.6 cent per mile tax for road usage. When you get your tabs, they look at your odometer and compute the charge. An additional 10% of that amount would be added on for rail, bicycle, pedestrian, and public transportation projects. 

I myself have no problem with this, I'm not going to cheat on my odometer. I don't even know how to cheat on my odometer. Also, I did a little bit of math on this, and I think my mileage tax would be less than what I'm being charged now when I get my new tabs. There would also be the possibility of a driver opting for an “automated” method for reporting your mileage, which would probably be somewhat invasive. 

By 2035 all vehicles with an efficiency of 20 miles to the gallon or better would be required to pay the tax by the mile. 

Washington state has been doing studies on this concept for over 10 years. Now we're finally starting to hear about it because they're getting serious. Washington State Department of Transportation is looking at a $8 billion shortfall just to complete road projects that they have scheduled now. 

The current view is that the Senate State Transportation Committee wants to discuss this more. Which to me means they're going to continue to kick the can down the road.
Washington's pay-per-mile tax resurfaces as gas tax revenue declines - Axios Seattle
Road user fees explored as a way to fund repairs, manage traffic
Washington State Legislature
House Bill 1596