WA Senate passes $100 annual electric car fee

Updated 05:26 p.m., Saturday, February 11, 2012

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington state Senate has passed a bill to charge electric car owners a $100 annual fee to compensate for the lack of gas taxes they pay.

Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, the Camano Island Democrat who sponsored the bill, says while electric cars are good for the environment, they put the same wear and tear on the state's roads that gas vehicles do.

The same bill passed in the Senate last year but failed in the House.

Washington's gas tax stands at 37.5 cents per gallon, and is the state's largest source of transportation dollars.

The bill does not apply to hybrid vehicles or to those that don't exceed 35 mph.

The bill passed Saturday on a 31-16 vote and goes next to the House.