Around the country, the “war on cars” has become apparent. From New York’s congestion pricing scheme to the onslaught of road diets and protected bike lanes to “reallocate” the public space away from cars, there is hardly anywhere you can travel without experiencing the increased hassle and cost of driving your personal vehicle.
Despite the Trump administration’s efforts to reverse the woke transportation trends at the U.S. Department of Transportation under former Secretary Pete Buttigieg, many state and city governments remain committed to punishing drivers.
One specific tool that is being used to implement the anti-car, woke transportation agenda are vehicle mileage limits and taxes. For example, in Washington State, they passed a law that sets a target of reducing vehicle miles travelled per capita by 50% by 2050. Their department of transportation is empowered to create policies and strategies that would effectively force people to give up their cars.
And of course, our neighbors to the West, California, in an effort to reduce the carbon emissions and endlessly subsidize their failed transit system, lawmakers there have proposed a mileage tax or “road charge” determined by how many miles a person drives. Implementing this would require invasive measures such as reporting odometer readings or installing “special plug-in devices.”
This kind of Orwellian intrusion on our freedom to travel privately has no place in any American city, even in California.
Last month, Arizona legislative Republicans took a huge step to protect our state from these insane California-style anti-car policies. With the passage of SCR1004, sponsored by Senator Jake Hoffman (Queen Creek) the Freedom to Move Act, Arizona voters will decide in November 2026 whether to enshrine a first in the nation constitutional protection against taxing, tracking, and limiting our vehicle miles travelled.
“The Arizona Free Enterprise Club has been fighting for the Freedom to Move Act since 2023,” said Scot Mussi, the Club’s President, “we are thrilled that our Republican-majority legislature chose to give voters the ability to protect their way of life by preserving our freedom to travel by personal vehicle in our state.”
President Trump and Secretary Duffy are doing critical work at the federal level to reverse the wokeness that has infected transportation policies and funding at the department and across the country. Now Arizona is leading the way on showing other states how they can pass their own protections for drivers and keep their states free too.
Mylie Biggs graduated from the University of Arizona in 2024 with a degree in Political Science. She currently serves as the Associate of Government Affairs at the Arizona Free Enterprise Club.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screen Capture/Arizona Department of Transportation)
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].
