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Resolve, To Establish the Road Usage Charge Task Force
Sec. 1 Task force established. Resolved: That the Road Usage Charge Task Force, referred to in this section as "the task force," is established to guide the development of a pilot program to assess the potential for mileage-based revenue collection for the State's highways and bridges as an alternative to the gas tax system.
1. Membership. The task force consists of 10 members as follows:
A. Three members appointed by the President of the Senate as follows:
(1) One member who represents a statewide civil engineering group;
(2) One member who represents a statewide transportation consumer organization or other public interest organization; and
(3) One member of a statewide business association;
B. Three members appointed by the Speaker of the House as follows:
(1) One member who represents a privacy rights advocacy organization;
(2) One member who represents a regional planning agency; and
(3) One member who represents the telecommunications industry;
C. The Commissioner of Transportation or the commissioner's designee, who serves as chair;
D. The Secretary of State or the secretary's designee;
E. The Executive Director of the Maine Turnpike Authority or the executive director's designee; and
F. The Commissioner of Public Safety or the commissioner's designee.
2. Duties. The task force shall study road usage charge alternatives to the gas tax, make recommendations on the design of a pilot program to test alternative road usage charge approaches, gather public comment on issues and concerns related to the proposed pilot program and provide recommendations on the criteria to be used to evaluate the pilot program. In studying alternatives to the current gas tax system and developing recommendations on the design of a pilot program to test alternative road usage charge approaches, the task force shall take into consideration the following:
A. The availability, adaptability, reliability and security of methods that might be used in recording and reporting highway use;
B. The necessity of protecting all personally identifiable information used in reporting highway use;
C. The ease and cost of recording and reporting highway use;
D. The ease and cost of administering the collection of taxes and fees as an alternative to the current system of taxing highway use through motor vehicle fuel taxes;
E. Effective methods of maintaining compliance with the proposed usage charge alternatives;
F. The ease of tracking location data, even when personally identifiable information has been removed from the data;
G. Increased privacy concerns when location data is used in conjunction with other technologies; and
H. Public and private agency access, including law enforcement, to data collected and stored for purposes of the road usage charge to ensure privacy rights are protected.
 
The task force shall consult with highway users and transportation stakeholders, including representatives of vehicle users, vehicle manufacturers and fuel distributors, as part of its duties.
3. Meetings. The task force shall meet as necessary to complete the assigned duties.
4. Staffing. The Department of Transportation shall provide staff support to the task force within existing resources.
5. Compensation. Members of the task force do not receive compensation for their time, travel or other expenses.
6. Report. The task force shall complete its work no later than January 8, 2018 and shall submit its report and recommendations to the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation no later than February 5, 2018. The report must include, but is not limited to, a discussion of the following issues: cost; feasibility; implementation; jurisdiction; use of revenues; security and compliance, including a discussion of processes and security measures necessary to minimize fraud and tax evasion rates; privacy, including recommendations regarding public and private access, including law enforcement, to data collected and stored for purposes of the road usage charge; and data collection technology, including the advantages and disadvantages of various types of data collection equipment.
7. Authority to submit legislation. Following receipt and review of the report, the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation may submit legislation relating to the subject matter of the report to the Second Regular Session of the 128th Legislature.
 
SUMMARY
This resolve establishes a task force to guide the development of a pilot program to assess the potential for mileage-based revenue collection for the State's highways and bridges as an alternative to the gas tax system. The task force is required to submit a report and recommendations to the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation no later than February 5, 2018. Following receipt and review of the report, the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation has authority to submit legislation relating to the subject matter of the report to the Second Regular Session of the 128th Legislature.