COLUMBIA – South Carolina lawmakers are considering assessing fees for alternative fuel vehicles, Greenville Online reports. Under the proposal, owners of hybrids would incur a $60 annual fee and residents driving electric vehicles would pay $120 per year.

The move patterns those adopted in other states, such as in Washington, where owners of electric vehicles pay an annual fee of $100, and in Virginia, where the annual fee for all alternative fuel vehicles is $64. As purchases of alternative fuel vehicles increase, fees help offset the revenue loss from gas tax collections, which decrease.

Lawmakers maintain that users of the road should pay for that use regardless of whether they purchase gasoline.

“People who are using electric cars get to ride the roads for free,” said state Sen. Ray Cleary, a Georgetown Republican. “That doesn’t sound fair. Of course, everybody wants somebody else to pay for it.”

While assessing a use fee is one solution, this conflicts with the government’s interest in promoting alternative fuels. Many states, including South Carolina, offer tax credits for those who use vehicles powered by alternative fuels.

In fact, a group of South Carolina senators has proposed a $1,000 tax credit for those who purchase or lease such vehicles.

“If we do a credit on one end, and there is no taxing or fee mechanism, then the state is paying someone to not pay for their use of the roads,” said Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler of Gaffney.

“That’s why we wanted staff to look into it and research those kinds of questions.”