New taxes and fees affecting electric vehicles, out-of-state drivers and deliveries to homes are all on the table as Maine lawmakers face a familiar question of how to fund roads and bridges.
Those revenue-raising options are aimed at shoring up the Highway Fund that faces a roughly $280 million shortfall through 2027, even after Gov. Janet Mills and a bipartisan group of lawmakers agreed in 2023 to direct $200 million annually to the transportation budget.
One measure would add a $200 annual registration fee on electric vehicles and a $100 fee on plug-in hybrid vehicles, impose a $1 surcharge on out-of-state vehicles traveling on the Maine Turnpike and imposing a a 50-cent fee on each delivery of “tangible personal property” — such as furniture, computers and cell phones — sold for at least $100 and subject to sales tax.
The proposal comes from Democrats led by Rep. Dan Ankeles of Brunswick but incorporates ideas from across the ideological spectrum. That is also one of the reasons why it is facing opposition from different parties, including environmentalists and retail groups. He said he wants to get the ball rolling while lawmakers view raising the gas tax as a “political non-starter.”
“I don’t put bills in to slip things by people,” Ankeles said. “I put bills in to solve problems.”
Ankeles noted that several Republicans are supportive of electric vehicle fees that at least 39 states have in place. Others have offered highway funding measures this session, such as a proposed constitutional amendment from Sen. Brad Farrin, R-Norridgewock, that would dedicate at least 60 percent of vehicle-related sales and use tax revenue to the Highway Fund. Rep. Allison Hepler, D-Woolwich, proposed a $250 electric vehicle registration surcharge.
The question of how to best fund Maine’s roads and bridges has proven politically difficult to answer, with State House tension ratcheting up last year when Democrats on the budget committee initially moved to shift $60 million in transportation funding annually to the general state budget. They reversed that move, which surprised Mills, following a bipartisan uproar.
Ankeles estimated the new taxes and fees in his bill, which is scheduled for a hearing Tuesday, could generate more than $50 million annually to start with before that revenue total increases as more Mainers buy electric vehicles and the state seeks to meet its climate goals.
The Retail Association of Maine called the plan a “sneak-a-tax,” but Ankeles said the state cannot solely look to sales tax or liquor fund revenue to patch up roads. Referring to the delivery fee, he said Amazon trucks should pay for the wear and tear they cause Maine roads.
Curtis Picard, the CEO of the retail group, questioned the value of adding more fees at a time when the state is already worried about a drop in tourism this summer due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs. He said the delivery fee could make Maine consumers use smaller, more frequent orders to stay under the $100 threshold, which would result in increased packaging and waste when the state has tried to discourage that.
“I think it absolutely sends the wrong message,” Picard said.
Environmental groups zeroed in on the proposed EV fees from Ankeles and Hepler. Josh Caldwell, the climate and clean energy policy advocate for the liberal Natural Resources Council of Maine, said they disincentivize climate-minded consumers and nodded to the political motivations behind Republicans backing electric vehicle fees.
“It would not effectively solve the structural problems around our transportation funding shortfall,” Caldwell said.
