I've received responses to one of my WIDOT Open Records Requests about details on the use of IHS Markit's VINtelligence application. That's the proprietary method WIDOT uses to categorize gas-only hybrid-electric vehicles to be subject to the $75 surcharge. It looks like WIDOT gives IHS Markit (or its Polk "subsidiary") $11,500/year for the privilege of hiding the categorization process for this taxation within VINtelligence. So, 150 (gas-only) payers of the surcharge get to contribute their $$ to this opaque company for the privilege of being scr...wed. IHS Markit (Polk) makes a nice sales pitch that their VINtelligence app is used in at least 47 other states, and numerous counties, around the country. So, figure they make between a half and one million bucks telling the government who should be taxed (and, admittedly, who should and should not be allowed in HOV lanes that allow "inherently low emission vehicles" - ILEVs). And, of course, the government doesn't need to have any idea about how IHS Markit comes up with their categorizations.
Wisconsin did a sole source purchase of VINtelligence, so IHS Markit did a good job convincing WIDOT that they were the opaque product of choice to get them the $7M revenue stream they promised. Of course, WIDOT could have done this in-house using a free VIN decoder base, like NHTSA's decoder. But then the process would need to be properly vetted and open to scrutiny by folks like me, ...you know... the public, subject to arbitrary application of surcharges/taxation.
For G1 Insight owners, I still recommend contesting the fee based on a technical comparison with a vehicle not subject to the fee (Malibu Eco)
as posted earlier. As a challenge to the technical implementation of the surcharge, there is at least a possibility to force a correction internal to WIDOT and the VINtelligence app, or at least to see what justification flows from IHS Markit back to WIDOT (if the Open Records Request is honored).
For Prius owners, for now you could contest the fee based on equal protection
as posted over on the Prius Chat site. Unfortunately, this is not a challenge to the technical implementation of the surcharge like the direct comparison above. That means it is more likely subject to litigation than to a correction internal to WIDOT and the VINtelligence app.
B