A bill in the Kansas Legislature aims to help fund the state’s roads by adding additional fees for electric vehicles and hybrids, but the proposal would put a much larger fee on hybrid trucks than similar hybrid sport utility vehicles.

Under one plan, owners of hybrid trucks, which include both a gas engine and an electric motor, would pay more than double the fees paid by hybrid SUV owners.

Automakers often use the same basic building blocks for different vehicles to increase cost efficiency. Trucks and SUVs often are built on the same basic chassis and share many parts.

The bill as written would apply the larger fee to popular trucks like the Toyota Tacoma and Ford Maverick.

The disparity would land right as automakers are releasing more models into the hybrid truck and SUV markets. Ford and Toyota currently sell hybrid trucks, with more models likely coming from other manufacturers. As more Kansans buy those new vehicles, more could see the disparity affect their costs.

Republican Rep. Nick Hoheisel of Wichita helped draft the bill. He said the proposal would replace the existing $40 truck registration fee with a $125 fee for hybrid trucks and $200 for fully electric trucks.

The focus on fully electric trucks is because large, heavy electric trucks including the Tesla Cybertruck, Ford F-150 Lightning and Rivian R1T cause significant wear and tear to the roads, but don’t pay fuel taxes that help fund road repairs and construction.

“We’re just trying to find parity between our gas vehicles and our EVs so everybody’s paying their fair share of the road,” Hoheisel told the Kansas News Service.

But the way the bill is written, owners of hybrid trucks would pay $125 annually, while owners of very similar SUVs built on the same platform would pay $50 under the Senate’s proposal and $85 under the House plan.

When asked about that disparity, Hoheisel said lawmakers are still trying to determine the appropriate level of fees.

“Not set in stone. It’s just a starting point for us,” Hoheisel said.

The bill also targets trucks, both hybrid and fully electric, because a past law that put higher registration fees on electrified vehicles was written in a way that ultimately didn’t apply to trucks.

“I think it was just an oversight,” Eastborough Democratic Rep. Henry Helgerson said.

The hybrid fee disparity in the new bill would affect owners of common vehicles including the closely related Toyota Tacoma truck and Toyota 4Runner SUV that share similar 2.4 liter hybrid powertrains.

Toyota sold nearly 200,000 Tacoma trucks in 2024, the first year with the hybrid option. More than 9,000 were hybrids. The 4Runner sold more than 90,000 units in 2024, although the hybrid option is new to that vehicle for 2025.

Also affected would be the big-selling Ford Maverick hybrid truck that shares a platform with the Ford Escape SUV. Ford sold nearly 69,000 Maverick hybrids in 2024 out of more than 131,000 Mavericks overall. The company sold almost 147,000 Escapes, although didn’t specify how many of those were hybrids.

Zack Pistora, with the Kansas Sierra Club, said the environmental group understands the need for parity between internal combustion and electrified vehicles. But he said the current bill doesn’t address the nuances.

“We shouldn’t punish vehicle owners, drivers for doing the right thing, for using less gas,” Pistora said.

A truck’s towing capacity can indicate its capability, and potential for wear and tear on the roads. Full-size trucks like the Ford F-150, Ram 1500 and Chevy Silverado 1500 have maximum towing capacities of 11,000 to 13,000 pounds based on the configuration.

The Toyota Tacoma hybrid and 4Runner hybrid can tow 6,000 and 5,800 pounds, respectively.

The towing capacity for the 2025 Ford Maverick hybrid is 2,000 pounds, or 4,000 with a towing package.

The bill in the Kansas Legislature does not include any distinctions in the hybrid tuck fees based on variables like capability or gross vehicle weight.

Because of all those complicating factors, some people argue the Legislature needs to put the issue on hold.

“We need to hit pause, hit the brakes on this legislation a little bit,” Pistora said, “and figure out the bigger picture on how we’re going to maintain our roads.”

The proposed fee increase for hybrids and EVs passed the House but did not pass the Senate before a legislative deadline last week. However, there are multiple ways for bills that miss deadlines to still advance.