The bill, which forms part of the larger tax policy bill, also includes a $100 registration fee for hybrid drivers.
The House Commission on Transport and Infrastructure voted in favor of some of the widespread settlement bills on April 30 to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda.
36-30 votes were thrown after nearly seven hours of full committee markup hearing dozens of amendments.
The passing law included the introduction of a new annual registration fee for electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids that fund federal highway repairs, along with the current 18-cent tax billed to Americans driving gasoline vehicles.
“For too long, EVs have been operating on roads in our country without paying for this system, which is primarily funded by federal taxes on gasoline and diesel,” Commission Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) said in his opening statement. “It’s simple and simple, and this is a matter of fairness and it’s time for these road users to pay share for their road use.”
If established, EV drivers will have to pay an annual registration fee of $250, while hybrid drivers will have to pay a $100 fee. These charges are projected to last until 2035 and bring $50 billion to highway repairs over these decades. This will help avoid a $142 billion cumulative shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund projected by the Congressional Budget Office.
In states that do not comply with EV fee collection, federal funds withhold up to 125% of unpaid fees. The results will be effective on the first day of October 1st, 2026.
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Originally, the proposed fee for the EVS was $200, with an additional $20 registration fee for all other vehicles. However, the fees were reduced by $20 during that hearing, and the fees for the EV were increased.
The House of Representatives Transport and Infrastructure Committee portion also included heavy investments in the US Coast Guard and modernising the country’s air traffic control system.
It also stripped billions of dollars from spending on the Green New Deal program. Members of the Democratic committee opposed the bill and said they had taken away funds for infrastructure projects provided by former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan infrastructure bill.
Several additional amendments have been submitted to strengthen funding for a variety of projects, from continuing development of the Amtrak corridor to increasing disaster relief and ensuring that already promised funds are still distributed.
