REVENUE-ELECTRIC VEHICLES
SB1805 creates the Electric Vehicle Charging Fee Act and establishes a new state fee on electric vehicle charging providers operating in Illinois. Beginning January 1, 2026, the bill imposes a fee of $0.06 per kilowatt hour of electric vehicle power distributed in the state, with annual increases tied to the Consumer Price Index. The fee must generally be collected from purchasers at the charging station, shown as a separate line item when possible, and remitted monthly to the Department of Revenue by registered electric vehicle power providers.
The bill also creates a registration and enforcement framework for charging providers, including electronic filing requirements, monthly returns, a small collection discount, and authority for the Department of Revenue to revoke registrations or seek injunctions for noncompliance. Revenue from the fee would be deposited into a new Electric Vehicle Charging Fee Fund, with 80% transferred to the Road Fund for highway-related uses and 20% dedicated to public transportation capital needs, split between the Regional Transportation Authority and downstate transit districts. In addition, the bill amends the Public-Private Partnerships for Transportation Act to require a dynamic wireless electric vehicle charging pilot program in certain roadway projects and authorizes emergency rulemaking to implement both the fee and the pilot program.
Because there were no committee transcripts or recorded votes provided, there is no documented floor or committee sentiment to summarize from the available materials. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears designed to generate transportation revenue while also promoting EV infrastructure innovation, but the absence of discussion and voting history means support or opposition cannot be measured from the record provided.
The main policy tension in the bill is between funding transportation infrastructure and the treatment of electric vehicle charging as a taxable or fee-bearing service. Potential points of contention include the per-kilowatt-hour charge, the administrative burden on charging providers, the pass-through of the fee to consumers, and the allocation of most proceeds to roads rather than exclusively to EV-related infrastructure. The dynamic wireless charging mandate for large public-private roadway projects may also raise cost, feasibility, and technology-readiness concerns for transportation agencies and private contractors.
SB1805 would add a new chapter of Illinois law governing electric vehicle charging fees, create a new special fund in the State treasury, and require electric vehicle charging businesses to register, collect, report, and remit the fee to the Department of Revenue. It also amends the Public-Private Partnerships for Transportation Act to require dynamic wireless charging in certain major roadway projects and amends the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act to allow emergency rulemaking for implementation. The bill would affect electric vehicle charging station owners/operators, consumers who purchase charging services, the Department of Revenue, the Department of Transportation, and public-private transportation contractors.
No committee transcripts or votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of legislative support, opposition, or negotiated compromise in the available record. From the bill text, the measure appears to reflect a policy preference for using EV charging activity as a revenue source for transportation funding while also encouraging advanced charging infrastructure. The lack of recorded debate prevents a reliable assessment of broader sentiment among lawmakers or stakeholders.
The likely points of contention are the new fee itself, its size and CPI indexing, and whether it should be imposed on EV charging as a business privilege and passed through to consumers. Another likely issue is the distribution formula, which sends 80% of proceeds to the Road Fund and only 20% to public transportation capital needs, potentially drawing criticism from transit advocates or EV policy supporters. The pilot requirement for dynamic wireless charging in large roadway projects may also be controversial because of cost, technical feasibility, maintenance impacts, and whether private contractors and transportation agencies should be required to implement an emerging technology.