Owners of all-electric vehicles in Illinois may get a huge shock to the wallet — thanks to a proposed $1,000 annual registration fee. The proposed hike is more than 57 times the current yearly fee of $17.50 for electric vehicle owners in the state. It’s part of proposed legislation that also targets the owners of gas-fueled vehicles to help fund $2.4 billion in projects such as roadway improvement.
Under the bill, the state’s gas tax would jump from 19 cents a gallon to 44 cents and the cost of standard vehicle registration would increase from $98 to $148.
Those who drive hybrids and plug-in electric hybrids wouldn’t have to pay the higher registration fee involving all-electric vehicles, according to Chicago state Sen. Martin Sandoval, a Democrat who introduced the legislation earlier this week.
“Capital bills in Springfield are like the second coming of the cicadas — every 10 years — and that’s not the way to go in regards to funding our infrastructure,” Sandoval said. “This is a transformational model. And hopefully, when we get done with passing this sustainable capital bill, we won’t have to have another press conference like this 10 years from now.”
