Poll: Make gas guzzlers pay higher fees Californians want vehicles that pollute to pay a penalty

Californians support the idea of charging "green" vehicle fees that would make drivers of gas guzzlers pay higher taxes and offer discounts for those driving less-polluting vehicles, according to a survey by a transportation researcher at San Jose State University.

The state now charges drivers registration and licensing fees and gasoline taxes at rates that do not take into account vehicles' pollution levels. But the survey, conducted by Asha Weinstein Agrawal, a research associate with the university's Mineta Transportation Institute, found that Californians would support a variety of taxes and fees to raise money for transportation improvements as well as combat global warming, including:

-- Raising vehicle registration fees, which now average $31, to an average of $62 and having higher-polluting vehicles pay higher rates and cleaner cars lower rates.

-- Offering rebates of up to $1,000 for people who buy new cars that emit very little pollution and levying a surcharge of as much as $2,000 on those purchasing gas hogs.

-- Levying a mileage-based tax that would replace the 18-cents-per-gallon gasoline tax. The per-mile amount would vary depending on how much a vehicle polluted the air.

"The public is very supportive of these green taxes and fees," said Agrawal. "This shows that it is realistic to improve the way we collect transportation taxes in this state."

The idea of using incentives to persuade motorists to drive cleaner, greener vehicles is nothing new. People who buy hybrid vehicles get federal tax credits, and drivers of electric, natural gas and some hybrids are allowed access to carpool lanes even if they aren't carrying any passengers. A bill that would have offered rebates to buyers of cleaner, greener vehicles made it to the Assembly floor last fall before failing.

Taxes or fees that penalize drivers of more-polluting vehicles are relatively uncommon, though some have been proposed, including a bill by Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, that would allow the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to impose a 10-cents-a-gallon gas tax in the nine-county Bay Area, pending voter approval.

Bills in the works

Sen. Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, has proposed legislation that would allow, with local voter approval, regional transportation agencies to impose a "greenhouse gas mitigation and funding fee" on motor vehicle registrations. And Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, has proposed a gas tax increase of up to 9 cents a gallon, or a $90 registration fee hike, to fund transportation improvements and fight global warming in Los Angeles, also pending voter approval.

According to the San Jose State poll, Californians are warming to the idea of such incentives and taxes.

Sixty-three percent of those surveyed said they would support raising vehicle registration fees to reward drivers of cleaner cars, Agrawal said, compared with 40 percent support for a flat-rate increase. A tax and rebate system for vehicle purchases, depending on their emissions, was backed by 65 percent of those surveyed.

A vehicle mileage fee of 1 cent per mile driven was backed by 28 percent of those surveyed, and support increased to 50 percent when the amount of the per-mile charge was varied to penalize more-polluting vehicles.

Researchers at San Jose State's Survey and Public Research Institute made 1,500 random calls to adults statewide between Jan. 20 and Feb. 1. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, Agrawal said.

The researchers will delve into the results more deeply to study how support for the taxes and fees varied by geography, demographics, type of vehicle driven, driving behavior and environmental concerns, she said.

"We might as well design our taxes and fees in a way that encourages people to make more sustainable choices," Agrawal said.

Randy Rentschler, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, said the state already has an effective method for taxing drivers who spew more greenhouse gases into the environment: the gasoline tax.

Gas tax already penalty

The gas tax penalizes those who drive gas guzzlers, and rewards those whose cars consume less fuel, he said. But the tax, last raised in 1984, has failed to keep pace with inflation, the state's growth or its increasing transportation needs. And with the high price of gas, politicians seem disinclined to propose a gas tax increase.

"There is no problem with the gas tax," Rentschler said. "The problem is a political problem - a lack of political will. The gas tax has become a political third rail - no one wants to touch it."

State Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks (Ventura County), also said green pricing is unnecessary in California.

"We already have variable fees based on gas consumption. It's called price," said McClintock, vice chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. "If you have a gas guzzler, you pay more to run it, which is an incentive to frugality.

"Anything else is just a clever attempt to wheedle more money from motorists," he said.