Assembly Bill 130 did not create a California mileage tax. The per-mile road charge that drivers have heard about comes from a different law, Senate Bill 339, signed by Governor Newsom on September 24, 2021. SB 339 authorized a voluntary research pilot, not a mandatory tax, and no California driver owes a per-mile charge today unless they signed up for the pilot. The confusion is understandable because both pieces of legislation touch on “vehicle miles traveled,” but they do completely different things.
What AB 130 Actually Does
Two different bills have carried the AB 130 label, and neither one is a driver-facing mileage tax. The 2021 version of AB 130 was an education finance budget trailer bill. The 2025 version of AB 130 addresses housing streamlining and CEQA vehicle-miles-traveled mitigation for developers. That developer-side VMT language is almost certainly the source of the “mileage tax” rumor, since the phrase “vehicle miles traveled” shows up in both the housing bill and the road charge program. In the housing context, VMT is an environmental review metric for new projects. It is not a charge on individual drivers.
If you were searching for a law that makes you pay by the mile, you are looking for SB 339, and everything below explains what that program actually does.
The Real Per-Mile Program Is SB 339
SB 339 added Section 3092.5 to the California Vehicle Code and directed the California State Transportation Agency to run a pilot program beginning on or after January 1, 2023, to study how a road charge could be collected.1California Legislative Information. California Code VEH Division 2 Chapter 7 Section 3092.5 The purpose is to test whether a per-mile fee could eventually replace the state gasoline excise tax, which currently sits at $0.612 per gallon.2California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Fuel Taxes As cars get more efficient and more drivers go electric, the gas tax collects less revenue per mile of road wear. A road charge would spread the cost across every vehicle regardless of fuel type.
Key features of the law:
- Participation is voluntary for privately owned vehicles. No one is required to pay a per-mile road charge.
- Participants receive a credit or refund for state fuel taxes and EV registration fees already paid, so no one is charged twice for the same miles.
- Two study groups: one pays a flat per-mile rate set by the Road Usage Charge Technical Advisory Committee; the other pays an individualized rate based on the state gas tax divided by the EPA fuel economy rating for their vehicle.
- The pilot authority expires January 1, 2027, unless the legislature extends it.
The actual collection pilot ran from August 2024 through January 2025, with Caltrans handling operations.3California Road Charge. Road Charge Collection Pilot A final report to the legislature is due by December 2026.
What the Rates Would Look Like
The program tests hypothetical rates. The California Road Charge website illustrates scenarios at $0.02, $0.03, and $0.04 per mile, and notes that any actual rate “would be set by the California Legislature.”4California Road Charge. California Road Charge Nothing is locked in.
The individualized rate formula is simple: divide the state gas tax ($0.612) by your vehicle’s EPA fuel economy.1California Legislative Information. California Code VEH Division 2 Chapter 7 Section 3092.5 A 25-MPG car works out to about $0.024 per mile. An 18-MPG truck lands near $0.034. A 40-MPG hybrid is around $0.015. For most gasoline cars, the result mirrors what the driver already pays through the fuel tax.
The gas tax credit is what keeps the system from double-charging. Each billing cycle, the pilot estimates the state fuel tax a participant has already paid at the pump, based on miles driven and the vehicle’s fuel economy, and subtracts that amount from the road charge. For a typical gasoline car, the net difference comes out close to zero. Electric vehicle owners see a larger net charge because they have no gas tax to offset, though the statute does provide a prorated credit against the annual EV registration fee that zero-emission drivers already pay.1California Legislative Information. California Code VEH Division 2 Chapter 7 Section 3092.5
How Drivers Would Report Miles
The pilot offered several reporting methods so people uncomfortable with location tracking still had a way to participate.3California Road Charge. Road Charge Collection Pilot
- A plug-in OBD-II device that reads odometer data and transmits it over cellular. Participants chose whether to enable GPS or not.
- Vehicle telematics, for newer cars with manufacturer-integrated connected-car systems that can share distance data.
- Odometer photos uploaded monthly for manual verification.
Automated methods reported in the background. The odometer photo option required hitting a monthly deadline to stay active.
Privacy Protections
Privacy is the concern that most drivers raise, and the program is built around giving people a choice. The odometer photo method and the non-GPS plug-in option both report only total miles, with no record of where those miles were driven.5California State Transportation Agency. SB 339 Road Charge Collection Pilot Interim Report
During the pilot itself, the program’s privacy policy states that participant location data and personally identifiable information are protected and then destroyed after the pilot ends.3California Road Charge. Road Charge Collection Pilot The Technical Advisory Committee also recommended that any future permanent program require law enforcement to get a warrant before accessing person-specific road charge data.5California State Transportation Agency. SB 339 Road Charge Collection Pilot Interim Report If a permanent program is eventually created, third-party account managers handling billing would also need to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act and both state and federal privacy rules.
Who Would Pay More and Who Would Pay Less
Whether a per-mile charge would cost you more than you pay today depends on what you drive. Under the current $0.612 gas tax, drivers effectively pay the following per mile:2California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Fuel Taxes
- Pickup truck at 18 MPG: about $0.034 per mile
- Average sedan at 28 MPG: about $0.022 per mile
- Hybrid at 45 MPG: about $0.014 per mile
- Electric vehicle: $0.00 per mile in gas tax, plus a $118 annual registration surcharge
At a hypothetical flat $0.03 per mile, the pickup driver would pay slightly less than today, the sedan driver slightly more, and the EV owner would go from paying nothing per mile to paying the same as everyone else. That redistribution is the whole point of the program, and it is also why hybrid and EV owners tend to object: drivers who bought efficient vehicles specifically to cut fuel costs would see their per-mile costs rise relative to the current gas tax.
What Happens After the Pilot
The pilot authority under SB 339 expires on January 1, 2027. Before that, CalSTA must deliver a final report to the legislature by December 31, 2026, covering the pilot’s results and participant feedback.3California Road Charge. Road Charge Collection Pilot That report will inform whether the legislature moves toward a permanent mandatory system, extends the pilot, or sets the idea aside.
No law on the books sets a date for a mandatory switch from the gas tax to a per-mile charge. Any permanent program would require new legislation establishing a rate, enforcement mechanisms, and a billing system. For now, the road charge remains a research program. You do not owe a per-mile charge in California today unless you voluntarily enrolled in the pilot, and nothing in AB 130, in either its 2021 or 2025 form, changes that.