Why not simply raise the fuel tax on gasoline rather than go to an entirely new revenue mechanism?
From 1981 through 1991, the Oregon legislature passed several rate increases for the gas tax to solve pressing problems resulting from declining gas tax revenues owing to inflation and increased vehicle fuel efficiency. A growing population in the 1990s created severe stress on the road system. The legislature and Oregon voters rejected proposals to raise the gas tax to pay for needed improvements and delayed maintenance. While the Road User Fee Task Force is not proposing automatic inflation adjustments to the road revenue system, the task force believes that any new revenue system should be designed to eliminate the future effect of dramatic automobile fuel efficiency improvements of Oregon’s statewide vehicle fleet.
