Lawmakers authorize DOT to collect money from hybrid and electric car owners

Utah lawmakers are authorizing the state Department of Transportation to collect money from owners of hybrid and electric cars.

Under a voluntary program that will start in January, UDOT will collect money for each mile those cars drive.

UDOT Deputy Director Teri Newell says the state depends on the gas tax to help repair and maintain its roads.

The new program will charge the hybrid and electric vehicles a fraction of a cent for each mile driven.

A driver who racks up ten-thousand miles a year would pay 150-dollars to the state.

Some lawmakers hope to eventually expand the program so that it includes all vehicles driven in Utah.

Newell says the fees could keep drivers of gasoline-powered vehicles from paying more than their share of road maintenance and repair costs.