Wisconsin motorists will see vehicle fees and fuel taxes increase next year if the state grants the Department of Transportation’s budget request, which was announced Friday.
Mark Gottlieb, secretary of the DOT, said in a prefatory letter his request was “ambitious and far reaching,” but said architects of the budget request used input from citizens around the state to craft their proposal.
The request included a 16 percent increase on the gasoline tax and a 32 percent increase on the diesel tax, a measure the department said is necessary to offset the growing efficiency of electric and hybrid cars.
“As fuel efficiency of motor vehicles increases, the Department will collect less motor vehicle fuel tax revenue for the same amount of vehicle miles traveled,” department officials said in the proposal.
The DOT is also asking the state to create a new $50 fee for registration of hybrid or hybrid-electric vehicles. These vehicles, the proposal authors wrote, inflict just as much damage to the upkeep of Wisconsin’s transportation network but pay less than their fair share because they use less fuel than other vehicles.
Increases on fees for highway use and motorcycle registration were included in the request. In sum, the plan calls for six new fees and increases to existing fees and taxes.
The Department asked to allocate funds to programs to improve motorists’ experiences at the Department of Motor Vehicles, reducing the number of situations in which one would need to visit the DMV and expanding online services.
Penalties for failing to wear a seatbelt would also increase under the proposal. The DOT cited a government report that found seatbelt compliance in Wisconsin to be at a rate of 85 percent, the 38th highest in the nation. The DOT would raise the fine for failing to secure a child under eight years old from $10 to $25, a measure the DOT says would save 15 lives annually.
The Legislature must pass Wisconsin’s budget for the 2015-’16 biennium in its next term, beginning in January. Legislators on the Joint Finance Committee, tasked with drafting a budget for the Legislature to vote on, have yet to comment on the request.
