Virginia Switches Sides on the EV Wars
When it comes to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and other states following their lead in statewide regulations for vehicles, there is a schism between states that support CARB, and those that stand against it. Virginia was at one point on the side of CARB, but due to a technicality in how the law works, will now be switching sides to forgoing the standards set by the regulatory board of the most populous state in the nation.
Details
In 2021, the Virginia Governor at the time, Ralph Northam, signed into law a bill that said Viriginia would follow CARB’s Clean Cars I auto emission standards, and since then has been doing just that. Now, as California turns the screws and plans to move to Clean Cars II, current Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin says that they will not follow in their colleague’s footsteps. Furthermore, because California is effectively abandoning the old regulations, Virginia no longer must follow them, and is transitioning to the more lax federal standards.
“Once again, Virginia is declaring independence — this time from a misguided electric vehicle mandate imposed by unelected leaders nearly 3,000 miles away from the commonwealth,” Youngkin said in the official statement declaring this shift in gears. “The idea that government should tell people what kind of car they can or can’t purchase is fundamentally wrong. Virginians deserve the freedom to choose which vehicles best fit the needs of their families and businesses.”
The regulations California is implementing requires 35% of model year 2026 vehicles to be electric vehicles, a small step on the path to banning diesel trucks in the states’ borders by 2042.
Conclusion
When it comes to following CARB or breaking off from them, the score is currently eleven in favor and eighteen against (those listed in the prior article, plus Virginia). In general terms, more populated states are more likely to be in favor of the regulations and less populated are to be against them, so the battle is closer than it may first appear. The results of the 2024 election may be the deciding factor as to just how stringent the vehicular requirements of the future will be.
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