A bill that would create a system of road user charges in Wyoming has been filed for the 2021 session of the legislature.

You can read House Bill 37 here. The bill is sponsored by the Joint Transportation, Highways & Military Affairs Interim Committee.

The bill would create a tiered system of user charges for vehicles in the state. The bill outlines the six tiers and the charges as follows:

(i)  Category 1 $0.013;

(ii)  Category 2 $0.0215;

(iii)  Category 3 $0.0287;

(iv)  Category 4 $0.065;

(v)  Category 5 $0.1032;

(vi)  Category 6 $0.1435.

Residents could receive a credit for fuel taxes paid against the amount owed for road usage fees, but the usage fees may eventually replace fuel taxes entirely, especially as electric cars and vehicles that use alternative fuels are expected to become more common.

The user charges proposal is designed to help the Wyoming Department of Transportation erase a funding shortfall of about $135 million per year. Once it is up and running, the fee collections could bring in about $136 million per year, according to a revenue estimate attached to the bill.

But administrative costs for the system are estimated at about $12 million per year, so the net gain would be only about $123 million.

The bulk of the money raised would go to the State Highway Fund, but a total of about $40 million annually would go to county road funds and city street and alley programs.

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