Purple States Take Note: Youngkin Saves Virginia From the Tyranny of California’s Gas Car Ban
13 hours ago Guest Blogger
By Chet Thompson
July 02, 2024
Governor Glenn Youngkin announced recently that Virginia would decouple from California’s onerous mandate requiring all new vehicles sold in the Commonwealth to be electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles (EVs) by 2035. This regulation—a ban on sales of new gas, diesel and traditional hybrid vehicles—promulgated by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), would have taken effect as soon as next year when 35% of all model year 2026 cars sold would be required to meet California’s definition of “zero emission.”
This all stems from a 2021 bill championed by then-Governor Northam and his allies in the General Assembly. They enacted policy directing the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board (APCB) to adopt regulations tying Virginia law to California’s vehicle emission standards. And if you can believe it, the law was intentionally exempted from the Administrative Process Act, denying Virginians any opportunity to give input on the regulatory process and dodging larger economic review for the policy.
It sounds brazen, but that’s exactly what happened: the previous administration in Richmond put Virginia vehicle policy in the hands of Californians.
In November 2022, California finalized entirely new regulations at the direction of their Governor Gavin Newsom. Under the new California policy, selling any new gas, diesel, flex-fuel or traditional hybrid cars and trucks would be unlawful and subject to severe penalties, whether in California or in states aligned with California.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2024/07/04/purple-states-take-note-youngkin-saves-virginia-from-the-tyranny-of-californias-gas-car-ban/
