Drivers in Washington state pay the fifth highest gasoline taxes in the nation – almost 71 cents per gallon. But the state is taking less money from the gas tax. One reason could be that gas prices are the highest in the nation at around five bucks a gallon, and people are buying less gas. But 12th District State Senator Brad Hawkins says more fuel-efficient vehicles and electric vehicles are making an impact. Electric vehicles make up somewhere between two and four percent of all the cars on the road, but that's expected to increase, and Hawkins says the state needs to come up with some sort of plan to tax vehicles that don't run on gas:
Hawkins does say, however, that electric vehicle drivers aren't getting off scot free:
Hawkins says that will probably be on the Transportation Committee's agenda in the next legislative session and will likely include discussion of a pay-per-mile system.