SB 394: Motor Vehicles; operation of alternative fueled vehicles and make conforming changes; remove a fee

Under current Georgia law, owners of alternative fueled vehicles (those running on electricity, natural gas, or propane) who want a special license plate letting them use certain preferential travel lanes must pay a separate registration fee under O.C.G.A. § 40-2-151. This bill removes that fee entirely. The bill amends several sections of Georgia's motor vehicle registration law (Title 40, Chapter 2) to strike the fee requirement and the related proof-of-payment requirement for special plate applicants. It repeals the fee provision in Code Section 40-2-151 outright and updates the Transportation Trust Fund statute (O.C.G.A. § 40-2-151.2) to remove references to money collected from that now-eliminated fee, since that revenue source would no longer exist. The special license plate itself, and the ability to use preferential travel lanes, remain available without the added fee.

• Removes the requirement that alternative fuel vehicle owners pay a special registration fee to get an alternative fueled vehicle license plate.
• Repeals paragraph (19) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-2-151, the section that had set out this fee.
• Eliminates the requirement that applicants prove they paid this fee before receiving the special plate (Code Section 40-2-86.1).
• Updates the Transportation Trust Fund law (O.C.G.A. § 40-2-151.2) to stop counting this fee's revenue toward the fund, since the fee no longer exists.
• Keeps intact the right of alternative fueled vehicles with the special plate to travel in designated preferential lanes under O.C.G.A. § 32-9-4.

Owners of alternative fueled vehicles in Georgia, meaning vehicles running solely on electricity, natural gas, propane, or a mix of these fuels, who currently pay a special fee for an alternative fuel vehicle license plate. It also affects the state's Transportation Trust Fund, which currently receives this fee revenue.

Georgians who drive electric, natural gas, or propane vehicles and want the special license plate that allows travel in preferential lanes would no longer have to pay the extra annual fee tied to that plate. The state's Transportation Trust Fund would lose that fee as a funding source going forward.

• Section 1 removes language in Code Section 40-2-38 requiring alternative fuel vehicles with special manufacturer or dealer plates to pay the fee under Code Section 40-2-151.
• Section 2 strikes the requirement in Code Section 40-2-86.1 that special plate applicants prove they paid the alternative fuel vehicle registration fee.
• Section 3 repeals paragraph (19) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-2-151 in its entirety, eliminating the fee itself.
• Section 4 revises Code Section 40-2-151.2 to remove references to fee revenue collected under the repealed paragraph (19), adjusting what feeds the Transportation Trust Fund.
• Section 5 repeals all conflicting laws.

1. 2026-01-14Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2026-01-13Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)Primary sponsor
• Nan Orrock (D, SD-036)
• Sheikh Rahman (D, SD-005)
• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)
• Sally Harrell (D, SD-040)
• Harold Jones (D, SD-022)
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Gail Davenport (D, SD-017)
• Sonya Halpern (D, SD-039)
• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)

• motor vehicle registration
• electric vehicles
• alternative fuel vehicles
• license plates
• transportation funding