Although Virginia has a Republican governor, it’s on the fast track to follow California’s law to ban gasoline-powered cars by 2035.
Former Gov. Ralph Northam (D) is to blame.
In 2021, Northam passed a law linking Virginia to California's vehicle emissions standards.
It would require all new cars in the state to be run electric by the year 2035.
The current administration is trying to reverse the law.
A statement to FOX 5 from Victoria LaCivita, a spokesperson with Attorney General Jason Miyares's office reads:
"In 2021, Governor Northam and the far-left controlled General Assembly signed a law that binds Virginia to California's emission vehicle regulations, which, among other things, bans the sale of gas-powered cars in Virginia by 2035. The Attorney General is hopeful that the General Assembly repeals this law and discontinues any trend that makes Virginia more like California. Unelected California bureaucrats should not be dictating the will of Virginians."
California’s decision to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars starting in 2035 will also halt the sale of such vehicles in Virginia due to a 2021 law linking the commonwealth to the Golden State’s vehicle emissions standards, state attorneys have found. https://t.co/UiboXN2tt1
— Sarah Vogelsong (@SarahVogelsong) August 26, 2022
Cont. from Fox 5:
Brad Carl, who is for electric cars says they are the future. "Anything that would go against kind of what the market is - isn't the way we should be doing it anyway. We should go along with that flow," Carl explains.
Pollard has some advice for new car buyers. "Buy an electric vehicle because if you look at the ownership, cost maintenance is so much less on an electric vehicle, and we've all seen what gas prices look like lately," he said.
"House Republicans will advance legislation in 2023 to put Virginians back in charge of Virginia’s auto emission standards and its vehicle marketplace. Virginia is not, and should not be, California," House Speaker Todd Gilbert said in a statement.
Governor Youngkin said he was "already at work to prevent this ridiculous edict from being forced on Virginians."
California's regulators on Thursday approved a plan requiring all new cars, trucks and SUVs sold in the state to run on electricity or hydrogen by 2035, with one-fifth allowed to be plug-in hybrids. The policy doesn’t ban cars that run on gas, allowing drivers to keep their existing cars or buy used ones.
"The California Air Resources Board issued the rule and held a final hearing this week requiring all new cars sold after 2035 to be electric. According to the same plan, 35% of cars sold in the state should be fossil-fuel free as soon as 2026," Fox Business noted.
The California Air Resources Board policy is the world’s most stringent set of rules for transitioning to electric vehicles.
"Virginia is among 17 states that have adopted some or all of California’s tailpipe emission standards that are stricter than federal rules. California, the nation’s most populous state, has had the authority to set its own for decades under a waiver from the federal Clean Air Act," Fox 5 added.
However, Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares is hopeful the General Assembly repeals it.
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