Latest news with #JaredHagert
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Lawmakers debate 3-cent gas tax increase, hike in EV registration fee
A sticker opposing a possible 3-cent increase to North Dakota's gas tax is displayed on a Bismarck gas pump on March 24, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) North Dakota lawmakers are weighing the first increase to the gas tax in 20 years and an increased electric vehicle fee, with the new tax revenue earmarked for improving local roads. House Bill 1382 proposes to raise the motor fuels tax, including gasoline and diesel, by 3 cents per gallon to 26 cents. The tax was last increased in 2005. Supporters say that even with the increase, the fuel tax would still be lower than neighboring Minnesota, which charges 32 cents per gallon, South Dakota, which charges 28 cents, and Montana, which charges 33 cents. The bill also would raise the vehicle registration fees for electric vehicles from $120 to $150 per vehicle, plug-in hybrids from $50 to $60 and electric motorcycle registration fees from $20 to $25. The registration fees were implemented in 2019. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Jared Hagert, R-Emerado, would dedicate the estimated $42 million in biennial revenue raised from the tax to a county, city and township road fund. 'The purpose is to create that stable, reliable funding mechanism for our core roads and foundational roads for townships, cities and counties,' Hagert said during a hearing Monday before the Senate Finance and Taxation Committee. He said he's also proposing an amendment to include all townships, cities and counties in the road fund. An original version of the bill included only non-oil-producing counties. Russ Hanson, executive vice president of Associated General Contractors of North Dakota, testified in support of the bill and said the tax increase should really be referred to as a user fee. 'You pay it according to how much you use, so the inherent fairness of it is the main reason for our support,' Hanson said. Mike Rud, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Marketers and Retailers Association, said retailers and convenience store owners are opposed to the tax increase. 'This is a $42 million consumer tax on the driving public. It's that simple,' Rud said. Others testifying in opposition said people living in small towns who commute to larger population centers for work would be adversely affected and bear the brunt of the increase. Don Larson, a lobbyist for General Motors, said the company opposes the section of the bill that increases the electric vehicle registration fees because those fees are already disproportionate with the taxes collected from gas-powered vehicles. He said based on fuel efficiency standards and the average miles driven by North Dakota residents, the average driver buys nearly 340 gallons of gas per year. Based on the current gas tax, he said the gas tax revenue per driver is about $78. With the proposed increase, each driver would pay an average of about $88 per year on gasoline. 'We're already paying more for electric vehicles than a traditional gasoline-powered vehicle would pay for those road fees,' Larson said. In Minnesota, the electric vehicle registration fee is $75 and, in South Dakota, the registration fee is $50. The bill passed the House in February on a 58-35 vote. The committee did not take immediate action Monday. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill for more drone grants fails in North Dakota House
Feb. 24—GRAND FORKS — The lead sponsor on a bill funding state grants for drones and other autonomous technology says he'll work to incorporate that funding into agency budgets after the legislation failed in the North Dakota House. Rep. Jared Hagert, R-Emerado, says he'll work to persuade lawmakers to incorporate the provisions of House Bill 1249 into agency budgets after the bill was voted down 42 to 50 on Monday. A "do not pass" recommendation out of the House appropriations committee likely killed the bill, Hagert said. "I guess (appropriations) is of the mindset that they'd like to see these types of programs in agency budgets," Hagert said. "So we're going to have to work to get this in the agency budgets." Crossover, when bills that advance in one chamber are sent to the other for consideration, is set for Feb. 28, and Hagert said he plans to work with lawmakers in both chambers to incorporate UAS funding into budget bills. HB 1249 would have allocated one-time funding to four state agencies that would have in turn issued grants meant to expand the use of autonomous tech in several issue areas. In its final version, HB 1249 allocated funding to use autonomous technology in missing persons investigations; emergency response in rural areas; inspecting crops and "training to address workforce shortages" in northwestern North Dakota. The four agencies set to receive funding in the bill's final iteration were the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Career and Technical Education, the North Dakota Attorney General and the North Dakota Agricultural Commissioner. HHS and the attorney general would have received $250,000 each for grants, while CTE and the agricultural commissioner would have received $500,000 each. The bill was intended to expand upon the grants lawmakers approved last session to use drones to detect invasive weeds in sugar beet and soybean fields. Hagert said he believed several factors contributed to the bill's failure, including confusion with the drone buyback program proposed in House Bill 1038 and a lack of testimony from state agencies on the bill. "It's not the end of the world," said Matt Dunlevy, president and CEO of the North Dakota UAS Council, a state lobby group. "It would have been nice to see this bill go through, because it does continue to draw from some of the past successes with UAS grants, especially as it pertains to workforce." He said the UAS lobby plans to work more closely with lawmakers in the future to assuage any concerns or confusion about future state grants.
