Texas Joins States Charging High Fees to Register an EV

'Driving an electric vehicle in Texas is soon to become more expensive,' reports Gizmodo:

Governor Greg Abbott signed a law (SB 505) on May 13 instituting new fees for registering and owning EVs in the state. Under the bill, electric car owners will have to pay $400 upon registering their vehicle. Then, every subsequent year, EV drivers will have to shell out an additional $200. Both of those fees are on top of the cost of the standard annual registration renewal fees, which are $50.75 each year for most passenger cars and trucks.

At least 32 states currently have special electric vehicle registration fees, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures. These range from $50 in places like Colorado, Hawaii, and South Dakota to $274 (starting in 2028) in a recently passed piece of Tennessee legislation...

Like many other states that have instituted EV fees, the reasoning behind the Lone Star State's new law is that electric car drivers don't buy gas. Taxes at the fuel pump are the primary way that most states, Texas included, amass funds for road construction, maintenance, and other driving-related infrastructure.
The bill's author told a local news station that 'with the growing use of EVs, the revenue from the fuel tax is decreasing, which diminishes our ability to fund road improvements for all drivers.'

But Gizmodo notes that Texas's gas tax 'is among the lowest in the country, at just $0.20 per gallon.' (And the average car uses less than 500 gallons a year, according to the American Petroleum Institute.)

Read more of this story at Slashdot.