It looks like the General Assembly is actually taking seriously the possibility that revenues from the gas tax may one day become inadequate to fund Virginia’s transportation needs. (It’s already inadequate, but it will become even more inadequate.) As Bacon’s Rebellion has warned repeatedly, as motorists shift to hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles and other more exotic automobiles over the next decade or so, revenues from the gasoline tax will decline precipitously.
Well, a Joint Subcommittee Studying Fuel Efficient Vehicles and Transportation Funding, chaired by Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, invited various transportation experts to testify and everyone concluded, yes, there is a problem. States an executive summary of the Subcommittee report:
Based on current gas prices, current consumer demand, and Congress’ recently-enacted CAFE standards, the current methods of transportation funding in the Commonwealth will not keep pace with new energy technologies being used for motor vehicles (e.g., hybrid vehicles; increased use of alternative fuel) and the Commonwealth will see a decrease in motor vehicle fuels tax revenues.
Jonathan Gifford, a professor at George Mason University’s School of Public Policy, laid out a number of policy alternatives, including: increasing the fuel tax, eliminating fuel tax exemptions, cutting transfer payments to transit, imposing more tolls (HOT lanes, road metering), and congestion pricing. Bacon’s Rebellion’s preferred option, a Vehicle Miles Driven tax, apparently was not considered (unless road metering amounts to the same thing).
It’s progress of a sort. At least the General Assembly recognizes that it has a problem. It remains to be seen if it will actually do anything about it.
