The $100 million in funding would come from the agency's 2007 fiscal year budget, which was proposed in February by DOT Secretary Norman Mineta.

"There is a growing consensus that traditional gasoline taxes and airline ticket taxes are not adequate to the task of supporting twenty-first century transportation needs," Mineta said. "The lessons that we learn through these demonstrations will help inform future decisions on surface transportation policies."The federal proposal would call for partnerships with as many as five states to test fees, tolls and other approaches to examine new ways to raise revenue and ease traffic on congested roads.