Hawaii drivers could pay more to fuel up and register their cars under Gov. David Ige’s state highway improvement bill moving through the Legislature.
Hawaii drivers could pay more to fuel up and register their cars under Gov. David Ige’s state highway improvement bill moving through the Legislature.
Senate Bill 1012, as currently amended, would increase the state’s fuel tax from 16 cents to 26 cents per gallon.
It also would bump annual vehicle registration fees from $45 to $50 and increase the annual per-pound motor vehicle weight tax by a quarter of a cent, or 0.25 cents, for cars up to 10,000 pounds.
That tax currently ranges between 2 cents and 2.5 cents per pound, depending on a vehicle’s weight.
For the owner of a compact or mid-sized 3,500-pound car, that works out to an additional $13.77 in annual fees and weight taxes. The owner of a 4,300-pound large car, mid-size truck or SUV would pay an additional $15.75 per year.
Additional revenue would be used to repair and maintain the state’s highways. As proposed, $45 of the $50 registration fee would be deposited directly into the state highway fund. Currently $40 of $45 is deposited into the fund.
Amended amounts were approved Monday by the Senate Committee on Transportation and Energy, chaired by state Sen. Lorraine Inouye, D-Hilo.
Ige originally proposed a lesser gas tax increase and more of a hike to the motor vehicle fee and weight tax.
Efforts to reach Inouye by press time Tuesday were unsuccessful. Inouye told other state media outlets Monday that amendments aim to rely less on generating money from the weight tax and registration fees and more on revenue from the gas tax.
Last year, lawmakers turned down a similar measure by Ige that would have increased the gas tax by 3 cents as well as hiked the weight tax and registration fee.
The state’s drivers have seen other increases in recent years.
In 2014, the state increased vehicle safety inspection fees by $4.49 to pay for a new electronic inspection system. In 2013, the Hawaii County Council raised its share of registration fees from $5 to $12. It also raised weight taxes from 0.75 cents per pound to 1.25 cents per pound.
Drivers fueling up Tuesday at a Shell Station in Hilo were mixed on the current proposal. One Puna resident said “any (tax increase) is a struggle” and she thinks the state could find a different way to fix highways — it “always seems to find a way to fix (roads) no matter what,” she said.
Visitor Clint Goldenstein of Colorado, however, said he thinks increases sound reasonable. He said Coloradans pay even more in fuel taxes and he’d willingly pay extra to fill up while visiting Hawaii “just to make sure (roads) stay nice.”
The price of a gallon of regular fuel in Hilo averaged $3.08 Tuesday.
SB 1012 will next be heard by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.
Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.