BOSTON -- A proposal to overhaul Massachusetts' transportation system by using GPS chips to charge motorists a quarter-cent for every mile traveled has angered some drivers.

"It's outrageous, it's kind of Orwellian, Big Brotherish," said state Sen. Scott Brown, R-Wrentham, who drafted legislation last week to prohibit the practice. "You'd need a whole new department of cronies just to keep track of it."

But a "Vehicle Miles Traveled" program like the one the governor might unveil this week has been tested -- with positive results -- in Oregon.

Governors in Idaho and Rhode Island, as well as the federal government, also are talking about such programs. And in North Carolina, a panel suggested in December that the state start charging motorists a quarter-cent for every mile as a substitute for the gas tax.

A draft transportation plan prepared for Gov. Deval Patrick says implementing a Vehicle Miles Traveled system to replace the gas tax "is a fair way to pay for our transportation needs in the future."

Patrick, who had yet to settle on any of the ideas contained in the draft, said last week, "I like any idea that is faster, cheaper, simpler."

The idea behind the program is simple: As cars become more fuel efficient or powered by electricity, gas-tax revenue declines. Yet the cost of building and maintaining roads and bridges is increasing. A state could cover that gap by charging drivers precisely for the mileage their vehicles put on public roads.

"There needs to be a new way of thinking about, 'How do we pay for all of this?'  " said Richard Dimino, president of A Better City, a business-friendly group that considers transportation issues.

"One of the ways is thinking about the automobile like a utility: When we turn on our automobile and use it, we would be charged like we do when we turn on the lights and we start using electricity."