It might get more expensive to own an EV in yet another big state

EV owners might be in for a cruel awakening.

Lawmakers in Florida are proposing charging owners of electric vehicles a hefty annual registration fee for their vehicles.

The proposal is called SB 28 and is backed by the state's Senate Transportation Committee, its Chamber of Commerce and League of Cities. The bill would allow the sunshine state to charge drivers $200 every year for their electric car, $50 for a plug-in hybrid and $25 for an electric motorcycle.

Related: Why this legacy automaker is going slow into electric vehicles

The goal of the bill is designed to offset anticipated losses from gas tax revenue, which would be lost or drastically reduced if more and more drivers make the switch to more fuel-efficient plug-in hybrids and/or electric cars and trucks. 

Gas taxes are directly linked to the funding of infrastructure in many states, including in Florida. State Sen. Ed Hooper (R), the sponsor of the bill, told NBC's Miami affiliate that it wasn't "fair" that EV drivers do not contribute equally in comparison to others who use the sunshine state's roads. 

“To remain silent on this issue for very long is eventually going to put the state in a crisis where we can't have adequate transportation capacity,” said Hooper.

The Republican noted that the $200 annual fee is based on data from the Electric Drive Transportation Association. However, Tesla  (TSLA) - Get Free Report representative and lobbyist Jeff Sharkey used the same data to calculate a lower fee of $135 per year. 

Those who reject the proposal, including State Sens. Tracie Davis (D) and Joe Gruters (R), say that the measure would result in a "double tax," as EV owners already pay tax on the electricity they use to "fill up" their vehicles. 

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Florida sits right behind California as the state with the second-highest amount of registered EVs in the United States. The state has seen a rapid increase in registrations of EVs year over year — 95,640 EVs were on the state rolls in 2021 and jumped to 167,990 vehicles in 2022. 

More Business of EVs:

• A full list of EVs and hybrids that qualify for federal tax credits
• Here’s why EV experts are flaming Joe Biden’s car policy
• The EV industry is facing an unusual new problem

Data from the National Conference of State Legislatures says that 32 states impose some sort of annual registration fee on EVs. Eight of them — Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Ohio, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming, charge $200 or more annually in such fees. 

Lawmakers in Texas — where such a fee came into effect this past September, cited EV drivers "paying their fair share" as the reason for such fees. 

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