1     
ROAD USAGE CHARGE PROGRAM SPECIAL REVENUE

2     
FUND

3     
2021 GENERAL SESSION

4     
STATE OF UTAH

5     
Chief Sponsor: Wayne A. Harper

6     
House Sponsor: Jeffrey D. Stenquist

7     

8     LONG TITLE
9     General Description:
10          This bill creates the Road Usage Charge Program Special Revenue Fund.
11     Highlighted Provisions:
12          This bill:
13          ▸     amends definitions;
14          ▸     creates the Road Usage Charge Program Special Revenue Fund;
15          ▸     defines sources of revenue to be deposited into the Road Usage Charge Program
16     Special Revenue Fund;
17          ▸     defines allowed uses for revenue in the Road Usage Charge Program Special
18     Revenue Fund; and
19          ▸     makes technical changes.
20     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
21          None
22     Other Special Clauses:
23          None
24     Utah Code Sections Affected:
25     AMENDS:
26          72-1-213.1, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapter 377
27          72-5-102, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 431
28     ENACTS:
29          72-1-213.2, Utah Code Annotated 1953

30     

31     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
32          Section 1. Section 72-1-213.1 is amended to read:
33          72-1-213.1. Road usage charge program.
34          (1) As used in this section:
35          (a) "Account manager" means an entity under contract with the department to
36     administer and manage the road usage charge program.
37          (b) "Alternative fuel vehicle" means the same as that term is defined in Section
38     41-1a-102.
39          (c) "Payment period" means the interval during which an owner is required to report
40     mileage and pay the appropriate road usage charge according to the terms of the program.
41          (d) "Program" means the road usage charge program established and described in this
42     section.
43          (2) There is established a road usage charge program as described in this section.
44          (3) (a) The department shall implement and oversee the administration of the program,
45     which shall begin on January 1, 2020.
46          (b) To implement and administer the program, the department may contract with an
47     account manager.
48          (4) (a) The owner or lessee of an alternative fuel vehicle may apply for enrollment of
49     the alternative fuel vehicle in the program.
50          (b) If an application for enrollment into the program is approved by the department, the
51     owner or lessee of an alternative fuel vehicle may participate in the program in lieu of paying
52     the fee described in Subsection 41-1a-1206(1)(h) or (2)(b).
53          (5) (a) In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act,
54     and consistent with this section, the department:
55          (i) shall make rules to establish:
56          (A) processes and terms for enrollment into and withdrawal or removal from the
57     program;

58          (B) payment periods and other payment methods and procedures for the program;
59          (C) standards for mileage reporting mechanisms for an owner or lessee of an
60     alternative fuel vehicle to report mileage as part of participation in the program;
61          (D) standards for program functions for mileage recording, payment processing,
62     account management, and other similar aspects of the program;
63          (E) contractual terms between an owner or lessee of an alternative fuel vehicle owner
64     and an account manager for participation in the program;
65          (F) contractual terms between the department and an account manager, including
66     authority for an account manager to enforce the terms of the program;
67          (G) procedures to provide security and protection of personal information and data
68     connected to the program, and penalties for account managers for violating privacy protection
69     rules;
70          (H) penalty procedures for a program participant's failure to pay a road usage charge or
71     tampering with a device necessary for the program; and
72          (I) department oversight of an account manager, including privacy protection of
73     personal information and access and auditing capability of financial and other records related to
74     administration of the program; and
75          (ii) may make rules to establish:
76          (A) an enrollment cap for certain alternative fuel vehicle types to participate in the
77     program;
78          (B) a process for collection of an unpaid road usage charge or penalty; or
79          (C) integration of the program with other similar programs, such as tolling.
80          (b) The department shall make recommendations to and consult with the commission
81     regarding road usage mileage rates for each type of alternative fuel vehicle.
82          (6) In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, and
83     consistent with this section, the commission shall, after consultation with the department, make
84     rules to establish the road usage charge mileage rate for each type of alternative fuel vehicle.
85          (7) [(a)] Revenue generated by the road usage charge program and relevant penalties

86     shall be deposited into the [Transportation Fund] Road Usage Charge Program Special
87     Revenue Fund.
88          [(b) The department may use revenue generated by the program to cover the costs of
89     administering the program.]
90          (8) (a) The department may:
91          (i) (A) impose a penalty for failure to timely pay a road usage charge according to the
92     terms of the program or tampering with a device necessary for the program; and
93          (B) request that the Division of Motor Vehicles place a hold on the registration of the
94     owner's or lessee's alternative fuel vehicle for failure to pay a road usage charge according to
95     the terms of the program;
96          (ii) send correspondence to the owner of an alternative fuel vehicle to inform the owner
97     or lessee of:
98          (A) the road usage charge program, implementation, and procedures;
99          (B) an unpaid road usage charge and the amount of the road usage charge to be paid to
100     the department;
101          (C) the penalty for failure to pay a road usage charge within the time period described
102     in Subsection (8)(a)(iii); and
103          (D) a hold being placed on the owner's or lessee's registration for the alternative fuel
104     vehicle, if the road usage charge and penalty are not paid within the time period described in
105     Subsection (8)(a)(iii), which would prevent the renewal of the alternative fuel vehicle's
106     registration; and
107          (iii) require that the owner or lessee of the alternative fuel vehicle pay the road usage
108     charge to the department within 30 days of the date when the department sends written notice
109     of the road usage charge to the owner or lessee.
110          (b) The department shall send the correspondence and notice described in Subsection
111     (8)(a) to the owner of the alternative fuel vehicle according to the terms of the program.
112          (9) (a) The Division of Motor Vehicles and the department shall share and provide
113     access to information pertaining to an alternative fuel vehicle and participation in the program

114     including:
115          (i) registration and ownership information pertaining to an alternative fuel vehicle;
116          (ii) information regarding the failure of an alternative fuel vehicle owner or lessee to
117     pay a road usage charge or penalty imposed under this section within the time period described
118     in Subsection (8)(a)(iii); and
119          (iii) the status of a request for a hold on the registration of an alternative fuel vehicle.
120          (b) If the department requests a hold on the registration in accordance with this section,
121     the Division of Motor Vehicles may not renew the registration of a motor vehicle under Title
122     41, Chapter 1a, Part 2, Registration, until the department withdraws the hold request.
123          (10) The owner of an alternative fuel vehicle may apply for enrollment in the program
124     or withdraw from the program according to the terms established by the department pursuant to
125     rules made under Subsection (5).
126          (11) If enrolled in the program, the owner or lessee of an alternative fuel vehicle shall:
127          (a) report mileage driven as required by the department pursuant to Subsection (5);
128          (b) pay the road usage fee for each payment period as set by the department and the
129     commission pursuant to Subsections (5) and (6); and
130          (c) comply with all other provisions of this section and other requirements of the
131     program.
132          (12) (a) On or before June 1, 2021, and except for the vehicles excluded in Subsection
133     (12)(b), the department shall submit to a legislative committee designated by the Legislative
134     Management Committee a written plan to enroll all vehicles registered in the state in the
135     program by December 31, 2031.
136          (b) The plan described in Subsection (12)(a) may exclude authorized carriers described
137     in Subsection 59-12-102(17)(a).
138          (c) Beginning in 2021, on or before October 1 of each year, the department shall
139     submit annually an electronic report recommending strategies to expand enrollment in the
140     program to meet the deadline provided in Subsection (12)(a).
141          (13) Beginning in 2021, the department shall submit annually, on or before October 1,

142     to the legislative committee that receives the report described in Subsection (12)(a), an
143     electronic report that:
144          (a) states for the preceding fiscal year:
145          (i) the amount of revenue collected from the program;
146          (ii) the participation rate in the program; and
147          (iii) the department's costs to administer the program; and
148          (b) provides for the current fiscal year, an estimate of:
149          (i) the revenue that will be collected from the program;
150          (ii) the participation rate in the program; and
151          (iii) the department's costs to administer the program.
152          Section 2. Section 72-1-213.2 is enacted to read:
153          72-1-213.2. Road Usage Charge Program Special Revenue Fund -- Revenue.
154          (1) There is created a special revenue fund within the Transportation Fund known as
155     the "Road Usage Charge Program Special Revenue Fund."
156          (2) The fund shall be funded from the following sources:
157          (a) revenue collected by the department under Section 72-1-213.1;
158          (b) appropriations made to the fund by the Legislature;
159          (c) contributions from other public and private sources for deposit into the fund;
160          (d) interest earnings on cash balances; and
161          (e) money collected for repayments and interest on fund money.
162          (3) (a) Revenue generated by the road usage charge program and relevant penalties
163     shall be deposited into the Road Usage Charge Program Special Revenue Fund.
164          (b) Revenue in the Road Usage Charge Program Special Revenue Fund is nonlapsing.
165          (4) Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the department may use revenue deposited
166     into the Road Usage Charge Program Special Revenue Fund:
167          (a) to cover the costs of administering the program; and
168          (b) for state transportation purposes.
169          Section 3. Section 72-5-102 is amended to read:

170          72-5-102. Definitions.
171          As used in this part, "state transportation purposes" includes:
172          (1) highway and [public] transportation rights-of-way, including those necessary within
173     cities and towns;
174          (2) the construction, reconstruction, relocation, improvement, maintenance, and
175     mitigation from the effects of these activities on state highways and other transportation
176     facilities, including parking facilities, under the control of the department;
177          (3) limited access facilities, including rights of access, air, light, and view and frontage
178     and service roads to highways;
179          (4) adequate drainage in connection with any highway, cut, fill, or channel change and
180     the maintenance of any highway, cut, fill, or channel change;
181          (5) weighing stations, shops, offices, storage buildings and yards, and road
182     maintenance or construction sites;
183          (6) road material sites, sites for the manufacture of road materials, and access roads to
184     the sites;
185          (7) the maintenance of an unobstructed view of any portion of a highway to promote
186     the safety of the traveling public;
187          (8) the placement of traffic signals, directional signs, and other signs, fences, curbs,
188     barriers, and obstructions for the convenience of the traveling public;
189          (9) the construction and maintenance of storm sewers, sidewalks, and highway
190     illumination;
191          (10) the construction and maintenance of livestock highways;
192          (11) the construction and maintenance of roadside rest areas adjacent to or near any
193     highway; and
194          (12) the mitigation of impacts from [public] transportation projects.