March 23, 2024
By Lane Kimble
MADISON, Wis. — Placing ink on paper, Gov. Tony Evers helped place a new revenue stream in the state’s Transportation Fund.
Evers signed SB791 and SB792 in his Capitol office Wednesday morning, surrounded by stakeholders, bill co-author State Sen. Howard Marklein, and WTBA General Counsel Jodi Jensen.
The bills allow private companies such as gas stations, convenience stores, and hotels to build stations and sell electricity for electric vehicles. The legislation also unlocks $78 million in federal funding to help those companies build dozens of Level 3 EV chargers along key transportation corridors.
“We don’t have to choose between protecting our environment and natural resources or creating good-paying jobs and infrastructure to meet the needs of a 21st-Century economy—in Wisconsin, we’re doing both,” Evers said.
The law dedicates 3 cents per kilowatt-hour sold via these chargers into the Transportation Fund, helping to supplement the revenue lost from EVs not paying the gas tax. The Department of Revenue projects the fee would generate only about $3.1 million in FY2025, but expects it to grow “substantially” as more people buy electric vehicles.
“More than 40 stakeholder groups participated in the development of this legislation,” Sen. Marklein said.
“This bill was an exercise in compromise in order to reach our goal: to allow the private sector to address the demands of the marketplace.”
WTBA registered in favor of the bipartisan bills, joining dozens of other associations and stakeholders. The Assembly and Senate both overwhelmingly approved the measures this year.
Thursday, WTBA was back in Gov. Evers’ office to see him sign SB616.
The new law, which was part of an overall Department of Revenue “cleanup” bill, clarifies the application of the manufacturing sales tax when it comes to important road and bridge building equipment, such as portable plants and machinery.
WTBA Director of Government Affairs Elise Nelson and Jensen testified in favor of the bill during this legislative session.
