Kansas Has Work to Do Before Electric Vehicles Take Off | Elizabeth Hicks on NPR

HAYS, Kan. (KNS) - President Biden recently pitched a $174 billion plan to electrify transportation nationwide, including $15 billion for new vehicle charging stations. But a new analysis says Kansas has some work to do to before it's ready for an electric vehicle revolution.  The U.S. Electric Vehicle Accessibility Index puts Kansas tied for dead last in a ranking of how easy states make it to buy electric vehicles.  Elizabeth Hicks, an author of the Consumer Choice Center index, points to a law the state Legislature passed in 2019 that increased electric vehicle registration fees to $100...more than twice as much as gasoline vehicles. She says the law intends to recoup money the state will lose in gas taxes but puts an unfair burden on those car owners.  “So unfortunately, we're seeing these electric vehicle consumers being punished by doing exactly what the gas tax intended, which was to use less gas," she said.  Hicks also points out that Kansas law prevents people from buying electric vehicles directly from companies like Tesla, which doesn’t have a dealership in the state.  

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