House Bill 360 that was passed during the 2023 Kentucky General Assembly comes into effect in January and will require owners of electric and hybrid vehicles to pay an annual fee toward road infrastructure.
According to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet the new law aims to ensure that road maintenance costs are equally shared between owners of electric and gas vehicles. The fee serves to be similar to motor fuel tax.
Under the new law, owners of electric vehicles will pay an annual fee of $120 and owners of hybrid vehicles or electric motorcycles will pay $60. The fees will go toward the State Road Fund which pays for road construction, maintenance, engineering, planning and research as well as administrative cabinet functions.
Cabinet State Highway Engineer James Ballinger says sharing the road also means sharing the costs to maintain them. Ballinger says the bill comes after the cabinet has seen a rise in the use of electric and hybrid vehicles.
The additional fee comes after a bill passed in 2022 which added a three-cent tax per kilowatt-hour of electricity used for electric vehicle charging stations.
Owners can make fee payments at EVHV.ky.gov or at their county clerk’s office when renewing a vehicle’s registration.