Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma President Brook A. Simmons issued the following statement in response to Gov. Kevin Stitt’s approval Thursday of House Bill 2234, by Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, and Sen. Zack Taylor, R-Seminole, that creates of the Driving on Road Infrastructure with Vehicles of Electricity (DRIVE) Act of 2021:

“The Biden administration has made transitioning our nation’s transportation system from petroleum to electric an administrative priority. It’s clear state and local governments must take action now to ensure the funding mechanisms used to maintain the roads and bridges we use daily remain viable in the decades to come.

“House Bill 2234 does that by providing much-needed parity in the way transportation infrastructure is funded in Oklahoma. Just as drivers of internal combustion engine vehicles pay a tax at the gas pump, now electric vehicle drivers will pay a tax at public charging stations.

“The Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma applauds the state legislature and Gov. Kevin Stitt for their efforts to help ensure funding for our transportation infrastructure will be available for generations to come, and that all users will contribute equally to it.”

ABOUT THE PETROLEUM ALLIANCE – The Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma is the only trade association in Oklahoma that represents every segment of the oil and natural gas industry, representing more than 1,300 member companies engaged in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors of the state’s defining industry.