Lawmaker proposes tapping tax from alternative fuel sales to help fund NJ road, bridge repairs

A New Jersey lawmaker is proposing a new avenue to help pay for road and bridge projects.

It’s vital to consider things other than a higher gasoline tax to provide funding for transportation infrastructure repairs and improvements, said Assemblyman Tim Eustace.

A bill he’s introduced would dedicate tax revenue from the sale of alternative fuels for vehicles to the state fund that pays for those projects.

“If you own an electric car as I do, I pay taxes on the electricity that’s generated by my house that I charge the car with, and a percentage of that would go into the Transportation Trust Fund,” said Eustace, D-Bergen. “The same is true for compressed natural gas and hydrogen.”

Eustace isn’t expecting his proposal to result in an immediate surge in Trust Fund revenues because so few vehicles in New Jersey are now powered by alternative fuels. But, that revenue stream could significantly increase down the road as more drivers switch from gasoline-powered cars, he said.