Two bills that have advanced through the legislature would create new taxes for electric cars. Critics say the legislation would make Georgia the most expensive state in America to charge an electric car.
They are bills that would add taxes to some of the electricity used to fuel electric automobiles.
Currently, any motorist who fuels up a gasoline-powered car at a Georgia gas station pays a gas tax. The tax helps pay for construction and maintenance of roads and bridges. Electric cars use no gasoline and pay no gas taxes, but "Electric vehicles also use those roads," explained state Rep. Rick Jasperse (R-Jasper) who is sponsor of the House bill.
"We want to effectively make sure everybody pays their fair share," he said.
Jasperse's bill that would charge about three-and-a-half cents per kilowatt hour for electricity at charging stations used to refuel electric vehicles. The bill would exempt home charging stations. Jasperse said Wednesday that a rewrite is adjusting the amount downward.
It would affect public charging stations like the one at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, and at many workplaces and retailers. Jennette Gayer of Environment Georgia said it would make those chargers obsolete.
"It would be really hard to retrofit them to take payments. So, if your workplace has a bunch of EV chargers you can use, those might go away," Gayer said.
The electric car bills come as Georgia ramps up its worldwide profile as an electric vehicle manufacturer – with state-funded assembly line sites for Rivian and Hyundai in the works.
Gayer said the legislation would make Georgia one of only five states that tax the electricity used to charge electric vehicles – and the most expensive. That’s in addition to a roughly $200 annual fee paid each year on the car owner’s birthday to register electric vehicles.
"But at the same time, we’re about to send a message that we don’t want people to buy those EVs in the state of Georgia, by making it one of the most expensive places to charge and register your electric vehicles," Gayer said.
Rep. Jasperse said he expects a final version of the bill to lower the rate somewhere in the middle of the pack of states charging for electricity for EVs.
Both the House and Senate have passed versions of the legislation. Rewrites have taken place since then. If it can't pass before next week's adjournment, the measures would live into the 2024 legislative session.