Arizona voters filling out early ballots this month will decide whether the state constitution should rule out a way of paying for roads that no Arizona government uses today: charging drivers by the mile.
Proposition 141, which Republican lawmakers referred to the Nov. 3 ballot in 2025, would bar the state and local governments from imposing any tax or fee based on how many miles a vehicle travels. It would also forbid laws that monitor or limit a person's vehicle miles without that person's consent, according to AZPM's ballot guide and The Center Square.
Public agencies' own vehicles and interstate commercial trucks would be exempt, The Center Square reported.
The road-money question
Arizona pays for much of its road work through the gas tax, which is 18 cents a gallon. That money flows into a state fund, and part of it is passed on to cities, towns and counties for street repair, KJZZ's politics reporters explained in an Oct. 8 segment on the measure.
Electric vehicle owners pay no gas tax, which is why mileage charges have come up as a possible replacement nationally. Four states, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Virginia, have per-mile programs, according to The Center Square, and KJZZ reported that most of those are voluntary.
The case for
Supporters argue the measure protects drivers' privacy and keeps another cost of driving off the books. Jay Beeber of the National Motorist Association told The Center Square that states should "be proactive" in ruling the tax out, and a vice president of the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona said a mileage charge would hit construction workers who drive between job sites across the Valley.
The measure was sponsored by Republican state Sen. Jake Hoffman, KJZZ reported, and Republicans in the Legislature raised concerns about the government tracking where people drive.
