Tennesseans considering pay-by-mile

State legislators in Tennessee have proposed taxing motorists by the mile to fund transportation programs, the Nashville Tennessean reported. Miles would be tracked by a Global Positioning System device in the vehicle and transmitted to a receiver on the pump at a gas station. The pump would then charge the driver for the miles driven since the last fill-up.

Members of the Senate Transportation Committee have been considering the possibility of such a road user fee.

"Gas tax revenues are static, and they don't necessarily increase with the transportation needs that have to be met," said Sen. Mark Norris (R-Collierville), chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. "We need to look at more forward-thinking concepts . . . like doing away with the gas tax and going to a user-driven system."

The Tennessee Department of Transportation is projected to have a shortfall of about $2 billion over the next decade. The state’s gas tax is 21.4 cents per gal on regular as it has been since 1989.