FACT CHECK: Is California Proposing a $0.30 Per Mile Driving Tax?

A post shared on Facebook claims California is purportedly planning on taxing citizens $0.30 per mile they drive.

Verdict: False

The claim is false. A May 27 article published on the website “Driving” indicates California is piloting its Road Charge program, which is voluntary and would set a potential mileage rate of between $0.02 and $0.04. A spokesperson for the California Department of Transportation explained more about the program in an email to Check Your Fact.

Fact Check:

A state audit revealed a December 2023 fire that damaged Los Angeles’ 10 Freeway could have been prevented, according to NBC Los Angeles. The California Department of Transportation’s Inspector General’s Office said measures were not taken to “make this property safer for the motoring public who traveled about it,” the outlet reported.

The Facebook post claims California is purportedly planning on taxing citizens $0.30 per mile they drive. “BREAKING NEWS: California is planning on taxing citizens $0.30 per mile they drive,” text overlay on an image featured in the post reads.

The claim is false, however. A May 27 article published on the website, “Driving” indicates California is proposing what it calls the Road Charge program “where drivers would be exempt from state fuel taxes and, instead, would pay a fee based on how many miles they drive.” The program is currently in the pilot stage, and California residents are being asked if they are willing to sign up and participate for six months, according to the same article. In addition, the program is looking to set a mileage rate of between $0.02 and $0.04, not $0.30, as the Facebook post claims.

Likewise, the official website for the program emphasizes it is “a policy idea that is still being explored and developed.” The website includes a form for residents who are interested in participating in the program to complete. The form asks residents what type of vehicle they own and how many miles they drive a month on average, among other questions. (RELATED: X Video Falsely Implies The Bidens Left Normandy Event Early)

Check Your Fact found no credible news reports suggesting the program had formally been implemented or that its purported mileage rate was $0.30. In fact, the opposite is true. USA Today reported the claim was false on June 7.

Lauren Prehoda, the Road Charge Program Manager at the California Department of Transportation, denied the claim’s validity while speaking by phone with the outlet.

Prehoda said the purported $0.30 mileage rate is “not anywhere near what we’re talking about here,” adding, “I highly doubt it would ever get to a level that would be 30 cents per mile.”

Furthermore, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom has not publicly issued a statement commenting on the claim.

A spokesperson for the California Department of Transportation explained more about the program in an email to Check Your Fact.

“SB 339 sets out two rates for the voluntary pilot. One group will be charged a flat rate set by the Road Charge Technical Advisory Committee at 2.8 cents per mile. The other group will be charged an individually calculated fee per mile traveled, that is equal to the state per-gallon fuel tax divided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s estimated fuel economy rating for that vehicle (based on the manufacturer, model, and year of the vehicle). Under no circumstances would the fees in the pilot approach 30 cents per mile,” the spokesperson said.