The cost of owning and operating a vehicle in Illinois would increase dramatically under a proposal in the state Senate aimed at paying for repairs to crumbling roads and bridges.
 
The legislation, introduced this week by Democratic Sen. Martin Sandoval of Chicago, would more than double the state’s gas tax to 44 cents a gallon, double the driver’s license fee to $60 and raise the vehicle registration fee to $148. The driver’s license fee is now $30; the vehicle registration fee is $98.
 
It also would significantly hike the registration fee for electric vehicles, from $17.50 to $1,000. Greater fuel efficiency and an increasing number of electric vehicles on the road has cut into the revenue available to the state to fix transportation infrastructure.
 
In addition, in an effort to provide a stable source of transportation funding, the gas tax and registration fees could continue to creep up every year under a formula tied to the rate of inflation.
 
Sandoval said his plan would raise an estimated $2.4 billion in annual transportation funding for Illinois. Illinois’ gas tax has been 19 cents per gallon since 1990, and the state’s last large-scale infrastructure improvement program was approved a decade ago.
 
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