HB 1602-FN-A-LOCAL - AS INTRODUCED
2016 SESSION
\t16-2001
\t09/10
HOUSE BILL\t1602-FN-A-LOCAL
AN ACT\testablishing a road usage fee and making an appropriation therefor.
SPONSORS:\tRep. Major, Rock. 14; Rep. Cooney, Graf. 8; Rep. Ohm, Hills. 36; Rep. Chandler, Carr. 1; Rep. Packard, Rock. 5; Rep. Almy, Graf. 13; Rep. Cloutier, Sull. 10; Rep. Henle, Merr. 12; Sen. Watters, Dist 4
COMMITTEE:\tPublic Works and Highways
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ANALYSIS
\tThis bill establishes a road usage fee for motor vehicles registered to travel on New Hampshire roads based on the equivalent miles per gallon of the vehicle. The fee is collected at the time of annual registration of the vehicle and deposited in a separate restricted road usage account within the highway fund. The bill also makes an appropriation to the department of safety to implement the road usage fee.
\tThis bill is a request of the commission to study revenue alternatives to the road toll, established under RSA 21-J:48.
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Explanation:\tMatter added to current law appears in bold italics.
\t\tMatter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
\t16-2001
\t09/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen
AN ACT\testablishing a road usage fee and making an appropriation therefor.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
\t1 New Section; Motor Vehicles; Road Usage Fee. Amend RSA 260 by inserting after section 32-c the following new section:
\t260:32-d Road Usage Fee.
\t\tI. Except as provided by paragraph II, the owner of each New Hampshire motor vehicle which has an equivalent miles per gallon (MPG) more than 20 MPG shall be required to pay a road usage fee at the time of registration of the vehicle, other than temporary registration, with a registration agent. The road usage fee shall be based on a vehicle that travels 13,500 miles per year and averages 20 MPG. Such a base vehicle would use 675 gallons of fuel and pay $149.85 per year in road toll. The road usage fee for such base vehicle is $0. The road usage fee for all other vehicles shall be $149.85 minus the New Hampshire road toll paid per year based on 13,500 miles of travel.
\t\tII. The road usage fee shall not apply to motorcycles as defined in RSA 259:63, mopeds as defined in RSA 259:57, OHRVs as defined in RSA 259:69, and motor vehicles that are model year 1983 or older.
\t\tIII. The department of safety, in conjunction with the department of transportation, shall develop and maintain a system which links the United States Environmental Protection Agency's MPG data system with the department of safety's vehicle identification number (VIN) data system, allowing registration agents to collect the road usage fee established in amounts based on the following MPG ranges:
\t\t\t\t\t\tMPG range at 13,500 miles per year
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t20 or less
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t21-25
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t26-30
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t31-35
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t36-40
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t41-45
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t46-50
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t51 or more and no gasoline
\t\tIV. The registration agent may retain $1 of each road usage fee collected in compensation for the administrative costs of collecting the fee. The remainder of the fees shall be remitted to the state treasurer for deposit, net of any "Apportionment A" allocated to the local highway aid fund for distribution under RSA 235:23, I, in the road usage account in the highway fund established in paragraph V.
\t\tV. There is established a separate account in the highway fund called the road usage account. The account shall consist of road usage fee revenues collected under this section and shall be nonlapsing and continually appropriated to the department of transportation for the purpose of maintenance, design, rehabilitation, and construction of state roads and bridges, including associated right-of-way acquisition.
\t2 Implementation of Road Usage Fee. Before January 1, 2017, the commissioner of safety, in conjunction with the commissioner of transportation, shall develop the linked data system required under RSA 260:32-d as inserted by section 1 of this act and adopt rules pursuant to RSA 541-A to establish road usage fees based on the requirements and mileage per gallon ranges (MPG) established in RSA 260:32-d, I and II.
\t3 Appropriation; Department of Safety. The sum of $330,000 is hereby appropriated to the department of safety for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017, for the purpose of implementing the provisions of this act. The governor is authorized to draw a warrant for said sum out of any moneys in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
\t\tI. Section 1 of this act shall take effect January 1, 2017.
\t\tII. The remainder of this act shall take effect upon its passage.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t16-2001
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t12/11/15
HB 1602-FN-A-LOCAL- FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT\testablishing a road usage fee and making an appropriation therefor.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Safety and Department of Transportation state this bill, as introduced, will increase state and local revenues and expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2017 and each year thereafter. There will be no impact on county revenues or expenditures.
This bill appropriates $330,000 in FY 2017 from the state general fund to Department of Safety for the purpose of this act.
This bill establishes a non-lapsing account in the state highway fund that will be continually appropriated to the Department of Transportation.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Safety states this bill establishes a road usage fee for motor vehicles registered to travel on state roads based on the equivalent miles per gallon of the vehicle. Based on data from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) the overall average driver drives approximately 13,500 miles per calendar year. The Department states assuming the average motor vehicle gets 20 miles per gallon (MPG), the average driver would purchase 675 gallons per year and therefore pay $149.85 per year in state road toll at the current rate of $0.222 per gallon. Using this average, the Department has estimated the road usage fee amounts that would be set forth in this bill based on vehicle miles per gallon:
MPG Range | Estimated | Road Usage Fee Under this Bill |
20 or less | $149.85 | $0.00 |
21-25 | $119.88 | $29.97 |
26-30 | $99.90 | $49.95 |
31-35 | $85.63 | $64.22 |
36-40 | $74.93 | $74.93 |
41-45 | $66.60 | $83.25 |
46-50 | $59.94 | $89.91 |
51+ or No Gas | $0.00 | $149.85 |
The Department of Safety states there are currently 900,441 passenger car and light trucks and 841 electric vehicles currently registered. Electric vehicles, as they are not gas powered, are assumed to be subject to the $149.85 road usage fee under this bill, however the Department does not have adequate data to estimate the MPG of the 900,441 other vehicles and therefore cannot estimate this bill’s impact on state revenues. The Department has provided the following breakdown of vehicles currently registered and their model year:
Model Year(s) | Quantity |
Prior to 1990 | 29,922 |
1990-1994 | 8,538 |
1995-1999 | 58,317 |
2000-2004 | 177,196 |
2005-2009 | 254,258 |
2010-2014 | 302,860 |
2015-2016 | 69,350 |
TOTAL | 900,441 |
This bill allows for the retention of $1 per each road usage fee collected by the registration agent, which will increase local revenues by an indeterminable amount depending on the number of fees processed. Pursuant to RSA 235:23 (“Apportionment A”), 12 percent of total road toll revenue and motor vehicle fees are distributed to cities and towns pursuant to the specified formula in the following year, which will increase both state expenditures and local revenues by an indeterminable amount depending on total road usage fee revenue. Revenue collected, net of the registration agent fee and “Apportionment A” is to be credited to a separate account in the state highway fund, continually appropriated to the Department of Transportation for the purpose of maintenance, design, rehabilitation, and construction of state roads and bridges.
This bill includes a general fund appropriation of $330,000 in FY 2017 for the Department of Safety for the purpose of implementing the provisions of this act. The Department estimates this would be sufficient to cover start-up cost, mostly related to system modifications and testing, required for the implementation of this bill. Local expenditures may also increase relative to programming costs associated with implementing the road usage fee.