The Republican governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, promised to thwart any and all efforts to outlaw gas-powered automobiles in the state.
His statement comes after the California Air Resources Board voted on Thursday to enforce an executive order by California Governor Gavin Newsom (D).
This prohibits the sale of gas-powered automobiles starting in 2035 and phases out the use of gas-powered vehicles over the course of the next two decades.
In 2021, the state legislature of Virginia approved a measure that put the Commonwealth on the road to implementing the pollution limits of California.
My statement on untying Virginia from California’s EV rule: https://t.co/BWSQKSgN4V pic.twitter.com/MK3mNKPyBb
— Governor Glenn Youngkin (@GovernorVA) August 26, 2022
Virginia Isn’t California!
Youngkin said liberal politicians who previously headed the government in Virginia sold the state out by exposing Virginia drivers to the same car laws that are in effect in California, in an effort to make Virginia more like California.
He went on to say now, as a result of that agreement, Virginians will be compelled to embrace the law that’s in place in California; it restricts the sale of automobiles that are fueled by gasoline or diesel.
Youngkin is quoted as having said he began working to stop this foolish decree from being imposed on residents of Virginia. Those laws that are no longer relevant in modern society have no place in their Commonwealth.
The Republican leaders in Virginia’s state government made an effort to pass a bill that would have prevented the Virginia Clean Economy Act from going into effect.
The legislation to “Repeal VCEA” was successful in getting through the House of Representatives of the state, but ran into opposition in the Senate earlier this year.
Despite this, the Speaker of the House of Delegates in Virginia, Todd Gilbert, has promised to keep fighting.
Gilbert said in a release that House Republicans intend to move through with legislation in 2023 to put residents of Virginia back in control of the state’s automobile marketplace, as well as the state’s auto emission standards.
He added Virginia is indeed not and must not be California.
Benefits?
According to Trip Pollard, a veteran attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, implementing California’s benchmarks will be able to offer better “consumer choice” for motorists who want an electric car.
Pollard also told the Associated Press that it was “unfortunate” Republican politicians would desire to take away drivers’ ability to make that choice.
Electric vehicles are “a critical part of the solution," says Senior Attorney Trip Pollard in @energynews_US. "The danger is that electric vehicles look like a silver bullet. And they’re not." We need a range of solutions to achieve cleaner transportation. https://t.co/Ab0832uTBf
— SELC (@selc_org) June 24, 2020
Pollard stated they would most certainly be making a compelling case to both sides of the aisle that this is something that the state of Virginia ought to maintain.
Despite the fact that Republicans control the House of Representatives in Virginia, Democrats hold a one-vote majority in the state Senate.
This creates a roadblock for the plans that Youngkin and his Republican allies in the legislature have in the works.
This article appeared in The Record Daily and has been published here with permission.
