Tennesseans could soon experience sticker shock when registering electric vehicles.

Gov. Bill Lee is considering raising the fee that EV owners pay each year from $100 to $300 to help fund the state's proposed infrastructure bill.

"We want to make sure there's a fair fee for everyone," Lee said, according to the Washington Examiner. "We'll figure out what that number is and move forward."

Lee noted that EV owners do not pay the gas tax that helps cover the costs of statewide highway and road maintenance projects and said he will not raise the gas tax or add fully tolled roads.

Tennessee Transportation Commissioner Butch Eley said the proposed $300 fee for EV owners would be the equivalent of the gas tax drivers of gasoline-powered vehicles pay each year.

"There's nothing, I think, more fair than people paying for what they use," Eley said.

Lee's infrastructure push follows the passage of President Joe Biden's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in November 2021. The $1.2 trillion law included increased funding for roads, bridges, broadband expansion, green energy initiatives, and water projects.

Tennessee's five-year building plan was up about $1.7 billion under the law, according to the governor's transportation team, and he has called for pay increases for transportation workers and expansions to public-private partnerships.

• Calif. Voters Weigh New Tax on Rich to Boost EVs
• US to Spend $703 Million on Improving Ports