OLYMPIA, Wash. - State transportation leaders will be making a controversial recommendation to state lawmakers to make Washington a pay-by-mile state.

The idea is to charge drivers for how far they drive instead of how much gas they consume. The Washington Transportation Commission voted to recommend the new system on Tuesday.

They have been studying pay by mile for seven years, including a recent pilot of 2,000 drivers who tried out the system. The commission says 72% of participants indicated they supported a road usage charge instead of a gas tax.

But ahead of the vote, there were people who passionately and emotionally spoke against a pay-by-mile system.

“You want to tax us until we cannot breathe,” said one man.

One woman who lives in Aberdeen said she drives 230 miles round-trip for work and she said a road usage charge would threaten her family’s livelihood. She also spoke up for many construction workers who commute long ways to get to their job sites.

But supporters say pay-by-mile is better than the gas tax to pay for transportation. With more fuel efficient cars and electric vehicles the commission says they expect gas tax revenue to decrease by 45% by 2035.

Other state departments are also supporting the system including the Department of Natural Resources.

“With less gas sales comes less funding for our roads and transportation infrastructure DNR is invested in this topic because our agency receives portions of the gas tax,” Leah Dobey with DNR said.

Climate activists also came out in support.

“We are excited at what`s being done to ensure long term revenue for a transportation system that`s climate friendly,” Leah Missick with Climate Solutions said.